The Road to Nowhere Leads to Me
by WintersGoddess1983
Summary: As the door opened he was greeted with the wide frightened eyes of none other than Peter Parker himself. The person he had tormented and beaten on throughout his childhood. Standing in the doorway with his hair a fluffed up mess and a pair of Iron Man pj's on. "Hey Pete," Flash said brokenly, "Been a long time."
1. Home Sweet Home

Flash looked down at the GPS on his cracked and battered phone. It was a small miracle it even worked, the poor thing had went through hell with him and he just couldn't make himself get a new one. Every scratch held a memory, the spiderweb cracks on the screen a reminder of what he's been through.

He never would have thought he would end up becoming sentimental, over a phone of all things, but every time he stared into the webs crisscrossing the screen he felt better about himself. Just because it was damaged and distressed didn't mean that it was broken, it may run a bit slower and needed a restart more than it use to, but it still managed to get the job done.

Just like himself..

Today was a better day for the old IPhone, it hadn't shut down once and now the little beacon was showing him that he was almost there. Just two streets away and he would finally reach his destination. Hopefully it would be well worth the nearly two hour walk from his shitty motel room in Hells Kitchen to this nice little street in Forest Hills, Queens. He probably should have hailed a cab or hopped on the train instead of hoofing it over the bridge from Manhattan, but he was still trying to get used to the feeling of his prosthetics.

He huffed out a laugh, remembering his doctors giving their useless pep talks..

 _You'll learn to use them well, it takes practice and patience, after time you won't even realize they're there.._

Bullshit, they had not a clue in hell what it was like. They had all their limbs still attached and no degree in medicine was going to tell him everything would be fine..

He'd never get used to not having his legs there. To live with something for 31 years and then have it physically ripped away from your body... Well, that was the hardest (most terrifying) thing he'd ever had to face.

He had came back to the States strapped down to a med-bed in the back of a military plane nearly two years ago, suffering from severe PTSD, near fatal head trauma and missing his legs from the knees down. There was a four inch long scar cutting across his left cheek and a painful one that went from the center of his forehead all the way around to the back of his neck. A constant visual reminder of the Doctor's efforts to save his life.

But at least he made it back. A miracle that he was even able to talk, walk and function like a human being considering his head trauma, but he was here. Most of his brothers-in-arms would never get that chance. Out of 22 men in his unit only 3 had come home, but not completely.

He shook his head, trying to shake away the dark, depressing thoughts that plagued him endlessly these days. He didn't need that now, today was supposed to be a good day for him, a positive one. A chance for a new, brighter future. He'd only been back in New York City for about a week. His doctors had finally deemed him stable enough to get back out in the world.

The past two years he had been confined to a hospital with daily therapy sessions and rigorous rehab for his legs, recovering from the IED blast that took out most of his convoy. They wouldn't release him until he was able to walk with no assistance and showed no signs of his seizures and schizophrenia.

He cringed at himself for thinking back on those depressing days. The confinement of the hospital, the voices that he had started hearing within his head after the explosion. While they didn't make themselves known to him much any more, they were still there, even with the prescribed medications. Flash had managed to convince his Doctors that he couldn't hear them now, which was probably the only reason he was really released.

If they knew he still heard the voices, whispering their little words of doubt and self-loathing, he would never have been able to leave. He just couldn't stand it anymore.. The pressing white walls, the daily interrogations of his mental health.. Finally he just got good enough to fake it.

 _Enough with the depressing thoughts Flash_ , he told himself, _the last thing you want is to give yourself a flashback in the middle of Queens._

He wanted today to be a good one. He hasn't had many of those in a long time.

Making the turn onto Exeter St. he took in the surroundings. It was a very nice neighborhood, much better than the one he had grown up in, with its peeling wallpaper and rat infested walls. That place had been a dump and held a lifetime worth of bad memories, but mostly because of his abusive asshole of a father.

This.. Well, it was more like the place Peter Parker had lived in when they were back in high school, all clean-cut and all-American. There were porches with worn rocking chairs and swings, the red white and blue of the nations flag hung proudly on more than half the houses. There were little container gardens filled with flowers and barely sprouted vegetables, and yards littered with bicycles and childrens toys.

Yea, this was a Parker style neighborhood..

Peter Parker...

Flash wondered where he was now, how he was doing. Was he still working for Oscorp or had he moved on to better beginnings after college. He thought about how shitty he was to Peter back then and sighed. Deep down, he had always been more than envious of Peter, which was probably one of the reasons he had picked on him so much. Jealousy..

He was jealous, Parker had family who loved him, friends who were devoted to him, and low and behold he always seemed to end up with the hottest girls in school.. Flash had a mother who abandoned him, a father who beat him, his friends only liked him because he would beat up anyone who bothered him and didn't even want to think about his bad luck with the ladies..

Peter Parker never had problems,(well, aside from his Uncle dying and Flash's torment) his life had been a calm stream while Flash's had been Niagara Falls.. Parker was floating the lazy river while Flash was being ripped to shreds.

He was never one to be good with showing his emotions, so he hadn't really known how to deal with his internal issues about Parker. It ended up coming out in the form of anger, which Flash had (like a dumbass) taken out on Peter.. Way to go Flash! Good way to show what a decent human you are..

It was probably for the best that Parker ended up hating his guts. He'd rather be despised by the man than apologize and explain why he was such a dick toward Peter who would likely laugh in his face at Flash's insecurity issues. So it was all probably for the best..

While he thought about Parker he realized he hadn't really kept in touch with anyone from high school. He used to see a few of his old buddies when he would come home on leave, but that was ages ago, well over ten years.. He wasn't able to get leave to attend their ten year reunion, so he really had no idea where anyone was now.

That thought made him pause.

There was really no one in his life any more. He was completely alone... His mom was long gone, deserting him before he was even ten, leaving Flash with his asshole father, who hated him so much he would beat him nearly unconscious, so going back home to him was never going to be an option.

He hadn't seen his father since his second year in the ARMY. He was on leave for Christmas and had the idea that he wanted to try and connect with his dad in someway. It backfired on him spectacularly.. The first day started out ok, they managed to actually talk without to much arguing, but the first night he was home... Harrison got so blindingly drunk that he went into a vicious rage when Flash had woken up in the middle of the night, intending to get himself something to drink.

That had been the worst beating he'd ever taken.

He was a military man, yet he couldn't fight off the lashing fists of his father, who was somehow a well respected police officer with a deep dark secret. The slurs screamed at him while Harrison was in a drunken rage had been the final straw for Flash. He ended up spending the rest of his leave holed up in a shitty room above Sister Margaret's bar until the swelling in his face had healed enough that he could see. He never came home again after that, severing every tie he had left with his dad.

For all he knew the old bastard was dead. Maybe killed in the line of duty or OD'd from alcohol.

Good riddance.

He glanced around, he really liked the look and feel of this place. It was nice, peaceful. He had been feeling sorry for himself, sitting in that shit motel scrolling through Craiglist when he had seen the ad for "Room for Rent" and it was close by. He had practically flown from the shitty motel he called home for that past week and began the long trek to what was hopefully his first potential home in more than 15 years.

The current tenants had added a few pics of the place. It had a calm and cozy look about it. Sat near the end of a shaded, tree lined Exeter St. It was bricked, three stories above ground and it appeared there was a basement below. Glancing around from his place on the corner, he could see that the West Side Tennis Club was just up the street and there was also a bus stop nearby.

The traffic was light, there were no honking horns and angry cabbies, damn he wanted to live here. The quiet was nice, soothing to his still rattled nerves. The past week in the Kitchen had been a literal nightmare. The gunshots at basically all hours of the night had left him even more sleepless and fatigued than usual. The circles under his eyes were so dark he could probably pass for a racoon.. He wanted some peace, quiet and a soft bed for once.

He wondered if the neighbors were quiet. Loud noises were not his friend, especially at night. Sometimes they set off his night terrors on the rare occasions he managed to doze off and Flash would wake up in a blind, screaming panic. He prayed that wouldn't happen here and put the owners off.

The ad was intriguing, but not overly informative. You could tell it was written by two extremely different people who more than likely couldn't agree on a post, so they compromised line by line.

Roommate Wanted, Queens, NY.

 _Bros b4 Hoes! Wicked bachelor pad!_

It's a three bed/bath house, fully furnished, with a fully functioning kitchen, located on Exeter St.

 _My LOve Shack is in the basement! It sparkles, teehee 3_

Parking is available and all the utilities are included in with the property.

 _Stay away from my parking space douchebags!_

Full access to all the house amenities.

 _Don't fuck up my Netflix feed!_

1k a month, non-negotiable. No deposit required but must pass background check.

 _Really, a background check when you have me living here.. What the fuck. Two words- Unalive!_

That's one word idiot! You know what nevermind, if you're interested and think you can handle a new level of crazy please come by on a Saturday any time after 12…

 _This house is a Unicorn friendly zone. Your horns will not be violated in any nonsexujjdkhaflksgfklasglaskdhg_

After that, it just ended, but Flash was intrigued enough to give it a try.

Deciding he'd been creeping long enough he started up the short front steps. There was a pretty little bed of flowers and shrubs underneath the front window that smiled up at him joyfully. A ceramic unicorn with a Wolverine action figure on its back danced in between the flowers.

His mood just kept going up.

Today is a good day, he thought.

He rang the bell and patiently waited for someone to come to the door. He laid eyes on the two cars parked out on the street.

 _Sweet,_ he thought, having himself a moment of car envy. One was a shiny red Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT with blacked out rims and windows. The headlights looked an almost erie white and the New York plates read POOLBOY. The other was a bright blue Audi TT Roadster convertible (damn) with shiny red trimmed rims and those same erie headlights. You could tell they were customized cars..

I wonder if these people can adopt me, he thought with some humor.

Damn he wanted to drive that Audi, it was one sweet ride and he hadn't been behind the wheel in almost three years.

Hearing movement behind him he turned around and put on his brightest smile to greet the tenants of this place. The smile was short lived though, because as soon as the door opened he was greeted with the wide, frightened eyes of none other than Peter Parker himself. The person he had tormented and beaten on throughout his childhood. Standing in the doorway with his hair a fluffed up mess and a pair of Iron Man pj's on.

They both stood frozen in place, neither daring to move. His good mood was suddenly plummeted. There was no way in hell Parker would ever let someone like Flash Thompson into his home. His smile completely left his face and a sick feeling started churning in his gut. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes so high.

"Hey Pete." he said brokenly. "Been a long time."

His voice seemed to break Peter out of his frozen trance because he jumped back, made a shrill whining sound and screamed " _What the Shit!_!" then slammed the door right in Flash's face.

 _Well hell, I guess I'm gonna be another homeless Vet living on the streets_ , Flash thought.

He turned and slowly made his way down the steps, thinking about taking the train back into the city. The stumps of his legs were starting to ache, he'd been standing on them to long and the plastic of the prosthetics was rubbing against his sensitive skin. He rubbed at his tired, bloodshot eyes, which had gotten a bit teary at having his hopes for a home practically stomped on before he could even blink.

Turning, he made it halfway down the street when he heard a door open up behind him and Peter jolted down the steps.

"Flash! Wait! Come back. I'm so sorry I did that. I guess I was just shocked to see you at my door." Pete came jogging out to stand with him.

"Eh, s'okay Pete. I'd have done the same thing if I were you. Not everyday you see the dickhead who used to beat up on you all the time smiling like a crazy man at your front door.."

Peter huffed out a laugh, scratching the back of his hair, "Heh! Trust me, I know crazy and you're far from it." Peter looked back at the house, giving the front window the stink eye,

"So...Why are you here? Are you here about the room?" Pete asked.

"I was, but... It's ok.. I.. I'll just..You can just pretend I was never here. I promise I won't come back again." Flash took a few steps back, raising his hands like a peace offering. "S' nice to see you Pete.. I'm sorry I bothered you.. And for everything else too.." he said, voice cracking, turning to leave. "Sorry..."

"Wait, Flash." Peter moved to grab his arm, "Do you want to come in and at least look at it, your honestly the first person who's even came to check it out. You should at least come in." Pete gestured at the door.

Flashed stopped moving, "...Would you really let me?"

Peter smiled warmly, "Yes, I would. Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted a few minutes ago but I was just kinda shocked. But that's no reason for me to be so rude. I swear I'm not usually like that. And I am sorry.. I'd really like it if you came in for a bit. Please."

Pete was giving him those sad puppy dog eyes, the ones he used in school to weasel out of trouble with the teachers. They even looked a little watery.

"Alright, if you're sure.." Flash said. A small spark of hope igniting back up.

"Absolutely. I think you will love this place. Come on, I'll give you a tour."

He followed. Prepared to go on your average home buyers tour.

He sure as hell wasn't expecting the chaos that was waiting for him inside.


	2. A Real Fine Place to Start

Peter led Flash up the front steps and made to open the door, but then paused.

"Sooooo, before we go in I just want to say that... My roommate can be a bit much for some people who aren't really used to... Being around his kinda of crazy."

Peter frowned, "Wow, that really doesn't sound good saying it out loud. I guess is what I'm trying to say is, just know that he won't actually hurt you, unless you do something bad to me. But he's going to try and test you to see how you handle everything. So don't be alarmed if you get shot at with a Nerf gun or doused in slime."

"Roommate?" Flash asked, seeing Peter again must have shorted his brain out more. "Oh yea, I forgot there were already two people living here.."

"Yea, Wade's a bit of a character, but he's a great guy. He's my best friend and he's kinda overprotective of me.." Peter trailed off, looking unsure about what he wanted to say. "He hasn't had the easiest life, he went through some serious hell and he didn't come away from it in one piece. Just, whenever he decides to show himself to you, give him a chance. That's all I'm asking for."

Flash thought about his own experience and wondered what kind of hell the other guy had been through. Was he military as well. He'd have to ask Peter more about him later.

"So, how did you two end up living here?" Flash asked.

Peter laughed, face scrunched, "Heh heh, welllll... We uh, kinda met through our jobs.. He..The best way to describe Wades job is... Well, he's kinda like a freelance exterminator, I guess. I work for Stark Industries and Wade was contracted to uh, to um, kill some pests that Mr. Stark just couldn't seem to get rid of." Pete rubbed at his neck sheepishly.

"Myself, I hate to kill anything. So I... Strongly objected to Wades method of extermination. He didn't take to kindly to that so he followed me home one night and, well you know what, let's just say it involved some katanas, a fluffy unicorn, then there was a can of Raid and a truck full of tacos. According to him we're the world's biggest bromance… Best ten years of my life. So far." Peter smiled happily.

"A unicorn? I'd really like to hear the whole story for that one. So you've been roomies for ten years? Man, it really has been a long time since I've been home.."

"Well, eight years total. I'd didn't actually buy this place til a couple years after we met. But he has been by my side from that night on, so it may as well be ten."

Flash couldn't begin to comprehend someone sticking by his side that long. The short number of friendships and relationships he had were mostly from his high school days and all those were ties were severed.

He just wasn't relationship material. Not that he didn't try, he had put forth his best efforts in every relationship he'd had, but there was always something that just made other people want to walk away from him.

Thinking back on his relationships, he realized the last time he'd actually had one was before his legs had been blown to bits. That was with one of the women from his unit, Candace, so he didn't know if he could even count that. It was more like two people who just needed an escape their harsh reality once and a while so they used each other for it.

Dear God... Was that really the last time he'd had sex? That was 3 years ago..

He thought about it.. Yep.. Three years. Shit, that's just sad..

But honestly, he hadn't had the energy in so long he didn't know if he even wanted try to find someone. Lately, he was just so depressed there was no point in dragging some poor soul down with him. Hell, if his dick hadn't seen any action in that long it would be a miracle if he could still get it up. The more he thought about it he realized he hadn't even bothered to jack himself off in that time either. A monk probably saw more action than he did nowadays..

The longest relationship he'd ever had was with MJ. That had lasted about half of their senior year before she just dumped him on graduation day. She'd taken his class ring and smacked him in the face with it. All the while calling him a selfish asshole, stupid and a loser. Her calling him a loser was like a stab to the heart, he heard those words enough at home when his old man decided to get shit faced and beat him half to death. Hearing it from someone he cared for, well that was painful.

He still, to this day, had no idea what he had done to deserve that from her. While they were together he had treated her like a queen, or he thought he had. He had even taken a part time job so he could take her out to dinners at those fancy places she liked. Bought her a pretty little diamond necklace shaped like a butterfly. All his free time he'd had then he had spent it with her.

He realized he'd spaced out for to long when Peter's hand waved in front of his face.

"Earth to Flash.. You ok there man, you looked a little sick?"

"Yea, yea I'm fine. Sorry I was just remembering something from way back when. I do that sometimes." Flash bit at his lip. "It's a common occurrence for me lately."

Peter didn't say anything. Just looked at him, lips pursed as if waiting for Flash to elaborate.

He sighed, "I was in the ARMY. Two years ago my unit ran up on a cluster of IEDs on a road just outside of Aleppo. There were, uhh.. My unit, it took severe damage.. Only 3 of us made it out alive, out of 22 men and women. I spent the better part of the time since confined to a military hospital. Going through surgeries and rehab. I took a hard hit to my head, and for a while I suffered from pretty bad seizures and signs of schizophrenia. Not to mention the extreme case of PTSD."

Peter looked stricken "I'm so sorry..I had no idea. I mean, I knew you had joined the military after graduation but I never heard anyone mention anything about you being hurt. A group of us actually go out and have dinner every few months, whenever we can all get together at the same time, but none of them mentioned it."

"It is what it is. No need to be sorry Pete. S'not like you had a hand in it." Flash said sadly. "And as far as others knowing, I haven't really seen or talked to anybody from school since my second year in the ARMY."

"Really? What, not even some of your old basketball buddies? You guys were basically inseparable back then. A few of them come to those dinners I mentioned."

"Nah...Not for a looong time. I think they only put up with me cause I would beat up anybody who tried to fuck with em..Never had any true friends to tell you the truth, just people who tolerate me til they get tired of dealing with me.."

Peter gave him an odd look. Almost like he was trying to read Flash's mind to see if he was lying or not. Then he gave a little shake of his head, snapping himself out of it.

"Hmm, alright then." Pete said. "Well, are you ready to go in? Just remember what I said about Wade. He'll be a bit much at first, but just try and bear with it. Give it a chance, even if he does try something stupid with you first chance he gets. I think you'll like this place."

"Sure, let's give it a try. If I can handle all the shit I've been through up till now, I should be able to handle a few little pranks."

Flash would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. In the back of his mind he was afraid that this Wade character may do something to trigger a flashback or one of his blackout states.

"Pranks, sure, but that's not all..Wade can be a bit of a..." Peter started as he opened the door, motioning for Flash to enter.

He had only taken a step in when there was a little *ping* sound above his head.

"Oh SHIT! Flash wait...back up!"

Before he could take a step back out the door a small bucket full of fuzzy black spiders had tipped from its hiding place just above the door. Raining down on his head, falling into the light jacket he was wearing.

He froze.

As soon as they hit and he realized what they were he squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel the little legs crawling all over his face, his neck..

Trying his best not to move he let out a small whimper.

"Mmmmmph..Pete? Could? Could you please? Get...Get them off me.." He stuttered, barely audible with his mouth clamped shut like it was. He sure as hell didn't want to eat these damn things.

"Oh my God! _WADE_!" Pete screamed at the stairs. "NOT funny.."

" _Are you kidding! That was fucking hilarious!_!" Came a shout from somewhere deep in the house

"I'm sooo sorry Flash! I was expecting water balloons and whipped cream. Not spiders..." Pete said while trying to slap at the spiders covering Flash's clothes and hair. It was a good thing he kept it short or he'd have a hell of a time picking those critters out of his head.

"I still have no idea how he manages to pull shit like that together so fast. I haven't even been outside five minutes!"

"S'alright Pete, it was more startling than anything. Not like those little things can hurt me." Flash said. "I'm not scared of spiders, I just wasn't expecting them to be dropped on my head. Now if that bucket had been full of snakes you'd probably have to call 911. I hate snakes.."

 _"HA! Yellow, take a note. Remind me to bring home some snakes. A nice plump python!"_ came the voice again.

"Wade, don't you freaking dare bring any snakes in here or I'll stick you to the ceiling!" Peter yelled back.

 _"Awww, but Petey-Pie...It would be soooo much fun! The look on his face, holy fuck, oh I could have sooo much fun with him. Can we keep him? White thinks he's cute! Little on the pasty side, dude needs some sun, what is he, a vampire?"_

"Wade, I swear to God..." Pete pinched his nose.

 _"Fine.. No snakes, asshole. But I make no promises beyond that. You think we should buy a tanning bed, vamps aren't supposed to be in direct sunlight. I don't want him poofing into gold sparkles near me. It's sooo hard to get out of my cracks!"_

"Oh dear God, please just, ignore him. _Wade, shut up_!" Peter looked like a tomato.

 _"The only way you can shut me up is if you come up here and stick your di..."_

"WADE!"

 _"FINE! But one of these days Petey! You, me keg full of lube. I'll just make sweet love to my unicorn till then!"_

"Uuumm, is it a bad time, or..?" Flash was feeling a little out of place. He hated it when people fought.

Apparently his thoughts were reflected on his face because Peter stared at him a moment before saying, "Oh, hell no. It's kinda always like this. It's just how we are. I promise that we weren't fighting. Wade and I just have a very unique relationship." Pete smile came off more like a grimace.

"Ok, I just wasn't expecting to cause you guys to have a fight when I haven't even moved in. I don't want to cause any problems for you."

"Trust me, that wasn't anything to do with you. I promise. That's just Wade, we hardly ever have an actual fight. Mostly we just bullshit with each other. Come on, let's look around."

They walked into the foyer. Flash stopped and stared a moment. This house was much bigger than it looked from outside. The entryway had a small bench with a coat closet. From there, you walked a step down into a living/family room with a brick fireplace and hardwood floors. A huge flat screen TV hung above the fireplace and family photos were everywhere. Leftover takeout containers were on the coffee table and a pair of rainbow house slippers sat on the floor. The big windows looked out onto the street.

He'd barely taken another step when something knocked him in the back of the head. Luckily it was pretty soft, the last thing he needed was another hard knock to his brain. The culprit, a big bouncy Spiderman ball, rolled across the floor and came to a stop by Peter's feet. Flash never even saw the man who had thrown it. Where the hell was he, he thought, looking everywhere.

Pete just sighed and cast his eyes to the sky. "I promise he'll give up. Eventually.."

"So the first floor has the living room, a dining room, a small bathroom and the kitchen. The stairs to the basement are back in the kitchen. Down there is a laundry room and what Wade calls the "Love Shack", and no, it's not because that's where all the sex happens... It's because he made everything red and pink down there, with sparkly hearts and lace. I swear there are even little cupids..And because he likes the B-52's." Pete laughed as he led them to the kitchen.

Walking into the kitchen Flash was immediately pelted by the machine gun fire of dozens of Nerf arrows. One somehow managed to get stuck on his forehead right between the eyes. Jesus...Once again there was no one there. What the actual fuck..

 _"Haaaaa Haaa!"_ Came the laughter from far away.

"Wade, knock it _off_!"

They finished their tour through the main floor, skipping the "Love Shack" for the time being. Then started up to the second. He made it up mostly unscathed. He managed to snag a trip wire which shot out a balloon filled with whipped cream. Flash had dodged most of it. At least he wouldn't have to walk home covered in sticky goo..

"Up here on the second floor are the master bedroom, where I sleep. Another bedroom that Wade claimed, the third bedroom and my home office. And another bathroom that's bigger than the one downstairs that connects the two bedrooms."

Peter paused, giving Flash a long look, "I know the add we put out said that it was a room for rent. To tell the truth it's actually a pretty small bedroom but in all honesty, I feel like it might not be a good fit for you."

"Peter, I don't mind-" Flash was afraid Peter was about to change his mind about the room.

"Easy tiger, I'm not kicking you to the curb before you're even here, but it's really kind of small. And I'm not sure the close proximity to Wade is good to start with.. So I thought you may want to try something else instead." Peter motioned him forward and led him down the hall and around the corner. At the end was a doorway that opened up to a set of stairs.

"If you were someone I didn't know, I wouldn't even think about letting you have this space. I usually keep it for family or friends who stay over sometimes. But since I know you, I don't have a problem letting you live up here. I think you'd be more comfortable here than that cramped bedroom. It barely has space for a bed and you'd have to share a toilet with Wade. It doesn't even have a window. There's a lot more space up here to spread out and escape from Wade's craziness.."

Peter opened the door with a flourish, "Ta-daaa!"

At the top of the stairs Flash stopped, and looked around the room with more than a little awe. The attic space had been converted into a very roomy apartment space. They had left the peak of the roof as it was. Some owners usually try to flatten out the top and sides to form walls, which Flash always thought made these places feel smaller. The ceiling had been insulated and covered in drywall, though, but the height of it made the room feel cozy.

Skylights with screens had been spaces along both sides of the space, letting the natural light flow through. They could be opened up to let in fresh air if the space ever got to stuffy but vents in the floor made him believe that wouldn't be a problem. There were also shades on each skylight to pull down if the light was to much.

The space he was standing in was a very tiny kitchenette, with a short L-shaped counter that held a one cup coffee maker and a small convection oven. The lower half of the L had a mini fridge underneath it.

A low partition separates the mini-kitchen from a very roomy living area, again with the harwood floors and some antique looking rugs. He looked at them fondly. His house growing up had never had anything that made it come close to the welcome feeling of this space.

Glancing around he noted the photographs that had been attached to the sloped walls. Pictures of the most towering skyscrapers in the city hung here. In various color tones and lighting. The Empire State building, Oscorp and Stark Tower were the main focus in them.

There were even a few photos of Spiderman in here. Holy shit! There was one of Spiderman with Deadpool. This had to be a dream..Spider Man was his long-time hero. The man he wanted himself to be like. He loved this place already.

He couldn't help but stop and stare at the photo of the duo for a moment.

"Are you a Spiderman fan?" Peter asked.

Flash turned to see Peter giving him an odd frown. "Yea, he's my hero. He's always been my #1 role model. I joined the ARMY so I could try to do something good, to protect people, like he does."

Peter looked as if he wanted to say something but chose not to. "How about Deadpool?"

Flash looked back at the photo, "I admit I like Spiderman a bit more.."

 _"BULLSHIT! Deadpool is way cooler asshat!"_ came the retort from the unknown.

"But," Flash pushed on ignoring it, "While Spidey's my hero, Deadpool is like my inspiration. The way he always keeps pushing on, no matter what people do or say to him. No matter how he gets treated, he always seems happy. Even when he probably isn't, but he tries. And I kinda think about that when I start to feel like shit sometimes, lately that's been a lot. I think 'what would Deadpool do' and just try my best. I know he's a mercenary but if you look at it he always goes after the true monsters out there. He's never killed an innocent person that anyone knows of, and if you would dig deep enough I'm sure you'd find that even the Avengers have a massive death toll. Probably even Spiderman..."

Flash chewed at his lip like he does when he gets nervous, "While the rest of the world may see him as a crazy murdering psycho, I still see the hero in there."

The sound of someone bawling drifted up through the house, accompanied by nose blowing. _"I know..*sniff sniff* he is so adorable. We are definitely keeping him, *sniff* He's so good for our ego!"_

"Um, Pete. Is your friend ok?"

 _*HOOONK* "Ewww that's a green one. Yellow, what should we do with it? Good idea! Hoh hoh, that is fucking awesome! Look how it rolls down the window! Petey, come look at this!_ "

"Hmmm, yea, yea he's good. He must be watching Lassie or something." Peter forced a smile.

Flash continued with his tour. There was no way he would say no to this place. Even if he had to put up with the crazy best friend whose existence was apparently a mystery. Where the hell was the guy?

Halfway down, the room had been walled of with a door. Behind it was a small bathroom with a clawfoot tub that had a raining shower head hanging above it. Another door led through into a fairly large bedroom that boasted a Queen size bed that looked as soft as a cloud.

"There's a door at the end of the bedroom that leads down into a little yard. So you'll have your own private entrance if you want to avoid us. It leads out to a small backstreet and the garage." Peter said. "We won't come up into your space unless it's something very important. I want you to like it here, and I won't invade your personal space. Wade and I sometimes work odd hours so more than likely you'll be here alone more than not."

"There's an alarm system for this space that separate from the main area below, they're locked and unlocked by your fingerprint and a key code so I'll need to program you in to both of those. You have pretty much free reign of the entire house to, except my master bedroom and bath. I wouldn't advise going in Wades space either, he may kill you. He hates when his private space is invaded. And he has a ton of his work equipment in there, soo. Oh, before I forget, do you have a car?"

Flash chuckled. "No, I haven't owned one since high school. I hoof it everywhere now."

"Ok, I was wondering. The garage is small but we can squeeze in 2 cars if we have to, and there's a tiny parking space out there too. Our cars are mainly parked out front but Wade has a truck he babies in the he needs a truck in New York I'll never know."

Damn, Flash thought, they had three cars. No wonder they were looking for another roomie, they must need help paying bills.

" I know what you're probably thinking right now. It's probably _'Shit no wonder they're needing more moolah'_ am I right?"

"Umm, the thought may have crossed my mind." Flash said softly.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I actually bought the house 8 years ago. I still owe a little on the mortgage but I have a great job, so it's almost paid for. Wade is shit with money even though he makes a ton of it he spends faster than he makes lately. I needed an extra income to help me pay some medical bills that my paychecks won't completely cover.."

Peter continued, "Aunt May is sick, she was diagnosed with cancer 2 months ago and she doesn't have any type of insurance to help cover her medical bills. It's only been two months and the bills are already almost into six-figures. Right now they're about 95k, but she has a long treatment process in front of her. The estimates for her, depending on how long her treatment will be, are in a range anywhere from 500 thousand to over a million dollars. I'm working all the overtime I can, and Wade has been trying to be better with his money, but I just need extra help. My boss offered to pay for everything but he's already done so much for me over the years I couldn't do it.."

Flash was floored. He knew how much medical bills could be, but luckily he had been completely covered by the government.

Peter laughed softly, "Aunt May wouldn't let me anyhow. She said it'll find a way to work out. It always does, but…"

"Is...? Is she gonna be ok?" Flash asked him. He had always knew how much Peter's aunt meant to him.

Pete gave him a small, heartfelt smile. "Yeah, they're pretty sure it was caught in time. Thank God.. Thanks for asking."

"She always made the best cookies when we were kids." Flash said.

"She still does, they're still delicious." Peter said.

Then he looked Flash in the eye, suddenly all business, "So, Eugene, do you want this place or not?"

He'd have to be insane not to take it. This was a dream. For the first time in two years he felt hope for the future. Living here could give him the chance to start living his life again.

That was the main reason for coming home, to try and gain some sense of himself back again. Some part that he hoped wasn't lost to the deserts of Syria. And this place, well it was a real fine place to start.

"When can I move in?" Flash held out his hand.

Peter smiled, extending his own, they shook on it.

"Whenever you're ready... Eugene"

Well, Flash thought, this should be interesting.


	3. Tonight, Tonight

They went back down to the second floor, into Peter's home office. Pete went to sit behind the big desk and powered up his laptop. He motioned for Flash to sit.

Flash made his way to the cushy looking chair in front of the desk. Finally glad to be able to get off his feet, he tried to hold in the sigh of relief that wanted to escape him. Wanting to be a bit more comfy while waiting to sign the rental agreement, he leaned back into the chair.

He probably shouldn't have..

No sooner than he leaned back against the seat the back legs of the chair suddenly gave way. He toppled to the floor with a loud thud.

" _Shit_!" he exclaimed, eyes going wide as the chair shot backward like a whip.

He wasn't expecting it, as the chair tilted and the floor met the back of his head he let out a pained whine. Terror swept through him and he forced down the need to hyperventilate. Any hit to his already delicate skull scared him to death. It was his number one fear now, all those months of suffering from seizures were torture and left him with an undying amount of fear .

He let a pained moan escape him. Bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his head, he was relieved to see there was no blood. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to remember the counting and breathing exercises his therapist had taught him. Just breath, he told himself, it'll be ok. The doctors said you shouldn't have any problems unless you took a severe blow to the head. This was just a tiny bump. You're fine.

"Oh shit, Flash! Are you alright?" Peter asked worriedly, jumping up from his own seat to hurry around the desk and kneel beside Flash.

"WADE! What the hell was that! Get your ass in here, NOW!" He yelled angrily.

" _But I don't waaaaaaana_!" came the reply, once again sounding very far away.

Flash wondered how the man had managed to stay hidden as they went through the house. It was a decent size home, but you'd think they would have seen each other by now.

"Easy Flash," Peter was running his hands gently over Flash's head, inspecting for damage. "Just lie still, alright."

"I'm...I'm ok, Pete.. It just.. Well...Honestly it just freaked me out a bit." Flash gasped out.

He was trying to take deep breaths, to ease his racing heart. He really didn't want to have a panic attack in front of Peter, and his still unseen BFF.

"I just...I hate being hit in the head." Flash mumbled, "When my convoy was hit, I...I told you I took a bad shot to my head.. S'how I got this lovely scar.. I was pretty injured, and for a while I had some pretty bad seizures from the trauma. I'm just afraid that if I get a knock to the brain they could come back.. S'not fun, waking up on the floor with blood coming out of your mouth and nose."

"Shit, I am so sorry! I'm gonna kill Wade, I swear..Playing a joke is one thing, but he could have seriously hurt you." Pete said angrily. "WADE, Get in here!"

"Pete, please. Really, it's fine. I just, wasn't expecting it, is all." Flash told him. He really didn't want to be the cause of a fight between Peter and his friend. "I just need a minute here.. I'll be ok."

"It doesn't matter if you were expecting it or not Flash, I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Sometimes Wade can take things a little to far." Pete ran his hands gently over Flash's neck, checking him over.

"It's not like I run around screaming 'Hey, I'm a trauma survivor, please don't hurt me'" Flash said, still trying to get his racing heart under control. Peter's touch seemed to have a calming effect on him. "He didn't know. It's fine!"

"It's NOT fine!" Pete stated, a bit red faced. "Look.. I know that back in school, we never got along and I was basically your human punching bag.." Peter started.

Flashed winced grimly "...I'm.." he started, but Peter kept going.

"But we're not the same people we were then. I like to think we've grown into..." He gestured wildly, "Somewhat responsible adults. Even though we never really got along..That doesn't mean I want to see anything bad happen to you. I told you earlier, I want you to like it here. To be happy here. I truly do. But I can't let Wade get away with something like that. I'll let the nerf darts and his little kid pranks slide because that's just how he is.. But I draw the line at something that could do you bodily harm."

Flash sighed, "You're not gonna let me say anything about it are you? I don't want to cause you any problems."

Pete gave a small smile. "No, he went to far sawing the chair legs. This isn't a cartoon. Given, he has no idea that you were injured in the ARMY, but he still shouldn't have done that. Wade was in the ARMY, well the Canadian one. Special Forces. He knows what it's like, and when he finds out you're an ARMY brat like him he's gonna feel really shitty."

"I don't want anybody to feel bad Pete.. Can we please just, let it slide. There's no harm done. I'm not convulsing, so that's a win for me. Please." he pleaded.

Peter sighed, "Fine, if you don't want me to, I won't scold him. But if he does anything like that again you can't stop me. He's my idiot friend, and I'll yell at him if I need to."

"Deal.." Flash smiled.

Peter extended his hand to help Flash back up. He wasn't expecting the smaller man to have such an intense tug. He practically pulled Flash up from the floor with barely any effort, and Flash wasn't exactly lite. Sure, he had lost a lot of weight during his stint in the hospital but he was still in the low 200's.

Damn, Pete must have started lifting weights.

"There's a window seat if you still want to sit." Pete told him, "It's safe I promise!"

"Thanks. I think my walk here is finally catching up with me. I'm starting to feel drained." Flash said.

He was feeling a bit sleepy now, that usually happen after he came close to or had a panic attack. The stumps where his legs were had started to ache more by the minute. He was definitely not going to be walking back to the city. If he did the plastic casing that attached to his remaining legs would start to chafe and bleed.

Resting his weary body on the seat, he took a good look around Peter's office. A floor to ceiling bookcase took up one entire wall, filled with books of every genre. Peter always had been a bookworm, Flash thought with a grin.

The opposite wall was almost completely covered in photos. There were several shots of Peter and a group of what Flash realized to be some of their old classmates. Those must have been taken at those dinners they have, he thought.

He couldn't help but stare at the photos. Quite a few of his old teammates were in almost every shot. They all looked like they were very close. Flash wondered how it came to be that they had let Peter into their group. The same people he sat and smiled with were the same ones who helped torment him in school.

Even with that thought, a pang of loneliness went through him. He couldn't remember the last time he had been invited to anything. Back in the ARMY his squad had never been the type to ask their Staff Sergeant to join them for things. The times he had leave there was no one to actually come home to see. He could have tried to do some things by himself but he enjoyed being in the company of others.

Others just didn't enjoy being in the company of him...he thought sadly.

"So, I'm just gonna print out a copy of the rental agreement for you to sign. I've went in and changed some things to comply with the attic apartment instead of the bedroom. I know it said that first months rent was due on signing but I'm gonna let that slide."

"Pete, no. I can pay..." Flash tried to say but Pete interrupted.

"Don't argue! I'm not charging you a deposit. But next months rent will be due by the 15th of the month. That gives you a little over a month of free living." Peter smiled warmly.

"Pete really, it's.."

"Ssshhh, no arguing remember. We don't really have any house rules, but I do ask that you clean up any mess you make. I have to do enough cleaning up after Wade and I refuse to do it for you to."

Flash smiled, "I can do that. I'm honestly a pretty neat person. Military does that to you."

"Ok, as long as you do that. Uumm, let me think.. Food is pretty much a joint effort, we don't mind sharing what food we buy, you're more than welcome to anything in the kitchen. But we stay pretty busy and if you rely on us to keep food stocked you may starve to death..So you'll want to do your own shopping there when you can."

"Same goes." Flash said. "Whatever I bring in I'll share with you."

Pete smiled, "Thanks.. If you have any allergies to detergents or cleaners tell me. I can get something that won't bother you. Wade has a terrible reaction to Pine-Sol, so please never bring that in the house. I think that's basically all to go over for now. Oh, you may want to make sure you hide your toilet paper, Wade likes to steal it so half the time we don't have any..I still don't know what he uses it for. Ok, here we go. One copy for you, one for me. Do you want to have a lawyer check it over first?"

"No, I trust you, if it's ok I'd like to sign and... Would it be alright if I move in tomorrow? Flash asked hesitantly.

"Why not today?" Pete asked.

"I have to get a few things out of storage, and my motel room. I'm gonna have to make a few trips on the train with it. I don't have much but I can't carry it all at once. I'm already feeling pretty tired."

"Hmmm." Pete looked at him, "Ok, how about we get these signed, then I drive you over to get all your things at once and you can move in today. Sound good?"

Flash wasn't expecting that. He gave Peter the fish eye. "That's a long way Peter. I don't want you to have to.." he tried, only to be interrupted again.

"Flash..Shoosh... I'm not letting you go back and forth across the city a dozen times when I have perfectly good cars right here. Aunt May raised me better. How much do you have in storage?" Peter asked.

"Uuuh, not much. Just a few boxes and some plastic totes. Why?"

"Just trying to figure which car I need. WADE!" he yelled "I'm using your car, we'll be back later!"

 _"Kaaaaaaay, have fun! And no sexy times in my car without me! Just kidding, he's totally fuckable, save a piece for me!"_

"WADE!"

Flash could feel his face grow hot. He had a feeling it would be doing it alot from now on. The invisible man was definitely a character.

"Come on, let's get going before he says something else extremely embarrassing." Peter smiled.

Flash couldn't resist smiling back. It felt foreign on his face, not being able to remember the last time he truly felt like smiling. But somehow in the last few hours since he'd arrived here, he'd felt like he'd been smiling more today than he had in the past two years. Living with these two could be good for him.

They made their way back out to that sweet Jeep to begin the journey to Hell's Kitchen.

"Oh wow, this car is really nice.." Flash observed, settling back into the soft Corinthian Leather seats. The inside had been completely customized. The white-ish trim of the black seats lit up with an icy blue light, matching all the graphics on the dash. Everything in here was touch-screen and holo-graph, even the door locks and window controls.

Pete smiled, "Thanks, I designed all this myself, for Wades birthday last year. Then I had Tony help me with all the actual installation."

"Tony? As in Stark? You actually know Iron Man!? That is freakin awesome dude!"

He laughed, checking behind him before pulling into traffic. "Yea, I kinda know all the Avengers." Pete replied bashfully. "When you work personally with Tony.. Uh, Mr Stark, it's hard not to meet them."

"Dude, have you met Spiderman?!" Flash begged him.

"Heh heh, Quite a lot actually.. I pretty much see him everyday, he's uh, always around. Those pictures in your new apartment, I took those. I've got a bazillion more if you want some of them. Or if you want I can take some new ones for you, I'm sure he'd autograph them for you. Maybe one day you can actually meet him."

"...Are you serious?..."

"Yeah, Wade and I work a lot, so if you ever get bored or just want something to do you can always come find me at the Tower. I'm sure he'll be there. I'll let Gina at the front desk know, and she'll let you up to my lab. Fair warning though, I share workspace with Tony so expect Steve to be there mother henning us all."

Flash was turning into the ultimate fanboy now, "This is the best day of my life.. Your life is like, incredible!"

Pete chuckled again, "Well, there's never a dull moment, let me tell ya."

They settled into easy conversation, Peter bringing Flash up to date on everything he'd missed while overseas, and Flash telling Peter about his life in the ARMY. He didn't know why he'd never brought up the loss of his legs. Maybe he just didn't want Peter to look at him with pity. Everyone did once they found out about them. The man had been so nice to Flash these past few hours, even though Flash knew he didn't deserve it. But he didn't want his pity. He'd rather get acquainted with Pete on his own terms and not because Peter was feeling sorry for a poor legless vet..

It felt nice..He would make up for all his past abuse somehow. He'd find a way to apologize to Peter for everything he'd put him through back then.

As they made their way over the Queensboro Bridge traffic came to a standstill, and something that sounded an awfully lot like a fart rumbled through the car. Followed by a sickening stench of raw sewage.

Peter and Flash both gagged and tried to cover their noses. Pete attempting to roll down the windows but they wouldn't budge!

"Holy fuck! What is that? It's like skunk piss and the city sewer in one!" Flash coughed out. "Oh God.. Windows, now!"

"Jesus Christ, WADE! WHY?!" Peter gagged, trying not to breath.

Flash could have sworn he heard a soft snicker and warm breath on his neck. He turned around to check but there was no one else in the car.

Finally the smell started to dissipate. Peter just glanced into the mirror with a soft smile then went back to looking at the road.

Having no idea what that was about, Flash just leaned back into his seat, letting his mind drift. The gentle hum of the Jeeps engine and the soft sound of Peters voice, lulled him to sleep almost instantly.

After several minutes of silence from Flash, Pete glanced over to see the man was out like a light, head tilted toward Peter. He glanced back in the mirror once more with a smile, placing a finger on his lips in a shush gesture. He felt the lite press of a hand ruffling his hair. When traffic finally began moving the rest of the drive over to Manhattan was spent in peaceful silence.

Later that evening...

Flash walked another lap around his new home, trying to contain his excitement. It felt so good to have a decent place to lay his head at night. It had been so long since he slept in something other than a tent that he would probably wouldn't sleep a wink tonight. He just couldn't help it. He was to excited.

Checking to make sure his doors were locked, he made his way to the bathroom. He wanted a nice soak in that clawfoot tub.

He couldn't believe he conked out on Pete on the way to Manhattan. One minute he was awake, then he was just overtaken by weariness. Peter didn't seem to mind though, he had just gently shaken Flash awake once they were in Hell's Kitchen to ask where he needed to go.

On the way back from Manhattan, he had asked Peter if it was ok to make a stop at a Walgreens. Flash needed to pick up a few necessities and have his meds refilled. While he was there he picked up some bath soak and cream to ease the pain in his sore legs. Now he was eager to relax for a while.

Waiting for the hot water to fill the tub he thought back to his day with Peter. It had been fun. They got along really well, it's was almost like the an instant click once they started talking again. You would think they had been friends for ages, not basically two strangers who hadn't spoke in 15 years.

He turned off the tap and went to sink down into the steamy water with a sigh. Content that he finally had something to look forward to in his life again.

He may even fix them all pancakes tomorrow.

But for now, tonight was just for him.

Meanwhile

Peter stared at himself in the big mirror of his master bath. Contemplating whether he wanted to shave or just leave his stubble for one more day. He hadn't really grown any facial hair until his mid-twenties so he was reluctant to part with it sometimes.

He hated having a baby face.

A little glimmer in the mirror made him sigh..

"We've talked about this Wade, no spying on me when I'm in the bathroom, I know you're there, I can see your outline so just come on out."

At the sound of a small click Wade materialised behind him. The little device Peter created to make him appear invisible worked like a charm.

"And don't think I don't know you've been using that thing to harass Flash all day. That fart in the car was horrible, you need to stop eating those tacos from that shady ass food cart. They may actually be what kills you." Peter said humorously.

"Awww, but baby boy. I like my present. We have soooo much fun with it! And do you have any idea how long I had to hold that thing in? I was trying to go for silent but deadly but my ass went for a deflating tire. Heh heh!"

"Wade I created that thing so you could sneak up on your targets not traumatize people with your pranks. Tony still hasn't got that brorange color out of his hair and Steve is still too terrified to ride in a car..." Peter paused, "Deflating tire? More like a sewage plant explosion. Did you wear the brown pants?"

"Heeee, Starks hair! Yellow thinks it's an improvement, he says it suits his douche sun tan better." Wade laughed, spinning in a circle on his toes, almost like a ballet dancer. "WEEEEEEEEEE"

"WADE! Those colors don't even exist in nature, where did you even get it?" Peter asked

"...I just mixed all the colors I found at Rite Aid. Why are we complaining it turned out fabulous!"

"Wade, his hair looks like tiger stripes, it's been that color for months and it stopped growing! You know what never mind." Pete sighed, "How about you give me your honest opinion on our new housemate. And that was a dirty trick you pulled by the way."

Wade frowned sadly, hanging his head in shame "I know.. I didn't know he didn't have legs..I'm sorry.."

"How do you think he...Wait, _what_? What do you mean no legs?" Peter asked, "He was walking, he has to have legs."

"Well, yeah their metal ones. The kind you can fit shoes onto. I saw them when the chair fell back. I didn't mean to hurt him. I'll apologize when I actually go meet him. I just hope my face doesn't scare him off. He's a keeper, reminds me of you.'' Wade giggled.

" I wonder why he didn't mention that. He told me about his head but that was it.." Peter said.

"Maybe it's an issue for him, like my scars. See these, right here, on my face.." Wade said making a grab for Peter. He picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder, making Peter laugh. "I wouldn't bring it up unless he does baby boy. There's a reason he didn't say anything. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you."

"But.. " Peter started.

"TIMMMMMBER!"

"GAAAAH, Wade! You dick." Peter said fondly as he landed on the fluffy duvet. "OOOOF.." Wade landed right on top of him.

"Now, if we remember, and white never lets me forget, you promised me movie night."

"I never promised, you demanded a movie night, dumbass." Peter laughed.

"Tomato, potato.."

"Pretty sure that's not how it goes." Peter told him. "Uuugh, get off me, you smell like tacos!"

"Shoosh, you. Now where was I?" Wade asked, "Oh yeah!" He leaned over and tickled Peter hard in the ribs, causing him to curl up with laughter, "Start my movie, minion!"

"Sir, yes sir." Peter replied, rolling Wade over so that he bounced off the bed onto the floor.

They could discuss their new roommate more tomorrow.

Tonight was just for them..


	4. Canadian Bad Ass

After several hours of tossing and turning, Flash eventually gave up on trying to sleep. His body was still aching and he could feel the dry, irritation in his eyes, but his mind was just to wired to rest. He checked his phone for the time.

Damn, it was only 5:30am.. The glimmer of the early morning light was peaking through the sky-lights above him. He knew that even if he tried, he'd never get to sleep now, he just had to let it come to him naturally. The little cat nap in the car yesterday hadn't been enough to ease his sluggish and battered body, so today was going to be a miserable day for him.

Giving in, he sat weakly up in the bed and looked around his new home. The bedroom walls were a dark grey, like the color you see in all those HGTV shows. His big, soft as a cloud queen sized bed was nestled into the corner just as you exited the bathroom. Piled high with fluffed white pillows and a sink into me feather top mattress. The shock-white duvet could double as a heated or cooled blanket. He'd never seen one that could cool you down before.

Ever since the accident Flash could never seem to stay warm, even on hot days, so he thanked all the Gods for giving Peter or Wade (who he still hasn't seen) the foresight for buying those covers. While the cool feature would probably never be used he'd already fallen in love with the heated one.

Directly across, in the opposite corner, someone had hung a rather large flat screen. But not your regular, black trimmed, thick as a board style TV. This one was looked like something from a sci-fi movie. It was crystal clear, probably glass or acrylic, and was only about 1/2 inch thick. There were no wires or microchips that Flash could see and no remote anywhere. He had no clue how to even turn the damned thing on.

I'll have to ask Pete about it today, he thought.

Under that, there was some sort of black glass cabinet with a bunch of charging ports on each side and a weird glowing symbol on the top. The doors of it had what looked like a print scanner so he avoided it entirely because he really didn't want to accidently blow up his new home.

After the TV, you had three evenly spaced sky-lights down the wall/roof (Flash could lie in bed and see the skyscrapers in the distance) with a row of bookshelves underneath. A custom built closet finished off the wall.

Rising, he walked over the white shag rugs placed over the hardwood (he liked the ongoing color scheme here) to fetch his warmest hoodie from the closet, even though it was nearing June he wore two shirts and a thick pair of flannel lounge pants.

He went to the small bathroom to splash some water on his face. Hoping it would help relieve some of his fatigue. A glance at the mirror as he reach for a towel made him stop.

God..Look at me, he thought.

His face looked gaunt, the hollows of his cheeks were so prominent that he had taken on a skeletal appearance. Last he checked he was still above two hundred pounds, but with his 6'6 height it did nothing to help him. Before the accident he had been nearly three hundred pounds of muscle, now he was mostly skin over bone. The rehab sessions had concentrated more on getting him walking than getting him back like he was.

His skin looked pale but had a yellow undertone (that can't be healthy) and with the dark circles under the eyes he looked like death.. The scars on his face and head stood out like a beacon in the dark. He had learned that the shorter he kept the hair the less noticeable it was, so he'd starting leaving it at peach fuzz length. Couldn't make himself shave it off entirely.

Amazing what depression can do to a person, he thought.

"You've got this Flash. You can pull out of this shit and learn to be human again." He tried giving himself a little pep talk in the mirror. "One thing at a time...One day at a time.."

Sighing, he went to the living area and decided push out the sky lights to let the morning air in. He'd left the AC off last night for fear of freezing to death, but the fresh morning air felt good on his face. He walked around the room once more, taking in every little detail. The photos were his favorite part of this place. All of them taken by Peter Parker himself.

It must be amazing, being able to be so close with the worlds heros, he thought as he stared at the photo of Spiderman and Deadpool.

But Pete had said maybe Flash could meet them to one day. He couldn't imagine it, probably Pete was just humoring him but wouldn't that be just wicked awesome!

It was definitely a posed shot, they sat with their backs pressed against each other while they smiled at the camera. You could actually see the smiles behind the masks. Each had their furthermost leg bent with their arm resting on top of it, while the leg in the foreground was comfortably stretched out in front of them. Their remaining arms were held down flat against the ground and touching shoulder to shoulder. In the background behind them the large A from the Avengers tower was lit up directly behind them. meaning they were sitting on the edge of the building.

How the hell does Peter get these shots, Flash wondered.

A glance at his phone told him he'd been staring longer than he thought. Nearly an hour had passed. He wondered what time Peter would be up. He wanted to do something nice for them, so he planned on making breakfast this morning but didn't want it to get cold if they were late risers.

Deciding to risk it, he pulled himself away from the photos and softly began down his steps. He didn't want to wake them if they were still sleeping. There was no sounds coming from the bedrooms, so he crept silently by, hoping there were no more hidden surprises waiting for him. Later, he was going to explore the house a bit more, just to get a good feel of everything and find the laundry room. His clothes from storage had a musty smell and he didn't want to walk around stinking up the place.

As he went down to the main floor he paused to look at more photos. The stairwell was lined from top to bottom with them. He'd recognize May and Ben Parker anywhere, having grown up around Pete one or both had made many trips to school when he and Flash had gotten into fights. Dozens of pictures of them and what had to have been Peters parents and other family covered the stairwell. Peter looked just like his mom. There wasn't an empty spot to be had. It didn't feel cluttered, it just felt homey.

Descending to the main living area these walls were peppered with even more pics of May with Peter, May with a man who looked burned, Flash couldn't really tell because the man tried to disappear into a hoodie, many more of Peter with the same man. Flash wondered if this was Wade, his face was very familiar but he just couldn't place it.

Each of the four living room walls apparently had a theme going on. One for family, obviously. One was full of photographs of Peter with none other than Tony Stark and (HOLY SHIT! That's Captain America!) group shots of Peter with the Avengers (holy hell, he really does know them) and even some of the X-Men.

Mother Fucker...That's Wolverine..

Wall three was dedicated to friend shots of him with their old classmates and, Flash was guessing, Peters colleagues from Stark Industries.

The last wall really caught Flashs attention. It was like a blast from the past.. Old photos, mostly from their high school days reigned here. MJ and Gwen, Harry and Ned, others he didn't remember, some that he did. Peter was in nearly every shot here, but what struck Flash the most was the sheer number of photos of himself..

He was freaking everywhere..

I don't even remember him taking these! Basketball, football, homecoming..The prom! Shots from the quad where they all had lunch to random ones of him in the halls. All of them looked like they were from a photo shoot but Parker must have meant for them to be this way. Flash had never even been aware his face was being snapped. He stopped at one of him and MJ by a locker on graduation day.

Huh, was there really a time when I looked that happy, he wondered. He was smiling widely at her while she was focused on something off to the side, looking unhappy. It wasn't one of the better shots so he wondered why Peter had it hanging here. MJ actually looked pretty angry..

And a few hours later she clocked me with my class ring.

The more he stared the more he remembered, and it was enough to bring back those whispering words in his head..Taunting him.

Pathetic! So horrible your own mother didn't want you!

 _A loser..! Selfish asshole, why don't you us all a favor and just finish what started in that desert!_

Mary Jane was right to leave you! She should have shoved that ring down your throat and spared us all!

 _Useless._

Worthless.

 _Wretched_.

Failure.

 _No one wants you here! Even puny Parker slammed the door in your face!_

FREAK! Just kill yourself and be done with it! DO IT!

"...NO!..." he came back to himself standing in the kitchen beside the knife block.

Jesus that had been a bad one.. The voices hadn't tried to get him to kill himself for a long time, they had lately been pretty quiet. If they did this again he'd have to try and up his med intake, even though it didn't really make them go away, it still pushed them far back into his mind.

Taking a deep breath and wiping his tears away he tried to get his thought under control and began searching for the tools he needed for breakfast. Obliviously unaware of the man who had been standing at the top of the stairs who had watched his whole episode with familiarity. Having experienced it himself on a daily basis, Wade decided he'd go back and tell Petey-Pie what just happened before making his entrance.

It would give their new roomie a chance to calm down.

((And we get free food!))

 _[_ _[Shut up, it's not our time yet! And it's not free if we fucking paid for it dumbass]]_

((You suck the fun out of everything! Even Petey!))

"Both of you shut up!" Wade smacked a hand against his temple, "I'm the only one who's gonna suck anything out of Peter! HEH HEH!"

 _[[(( You never let us have any fun))]]_

Back down in the kitchen Flash was having an internal pep talk while he was swiftly putting together a large stack of pancakes and bacon. Last night Pete mentioned that he and Wade both ate a lot of food at one time, so Flash figured he'd better make a few dozen cakes. He found a large electric griddle for the cakes and one for the stove top which had three packs of bacon currently frying on it.

Himself, he wasn't feeling hungry even though he knew he should eat. He skipped eating all together yesterday and today would be more or less the same. Food just turned his stomach, he'd rather not eat if he was just going to throw it up. He found a large serving tray and piled it up with the finished cakes before making two more dozen.

He was moving the crispy bacon onto it when a voice came down the hall singing loud and horribly.

"I'M A... CANADIAN BAD ASS. Watch me kick! You can roll with POOL or you can SUCK MY DICK! I'm a porno flick, I'm like amazing grace, I'm gonna fuck some hoooooo- Well Hello there!" Wade stopped his freaky dance.

Flash turned, prepared to finally meet Wade and froze in his tracks.

Standing before him, decked out from neck to toe in full red and black gear, was freaking Deadpool!

There were katanas strapped to his back, two small pistols holstered to the cross-straps on his chest, more guns holstered at his sides, thighs and ankles. Knives attached from top to bottom and (HOLY FUCK, that's a grenade!) a purple unicorn was attached to his belt.

"...Nnn..."

Wade cocked ( _hehe, you said cocked_ ) _[siiiiiiiigh]_ his head to the side like a dog. "Uhhhh, you ok there Sparky?"

"...Hooo...llyyyy..."

 _[You forgot your mask dipshit, way to go]_

(Oopsies! He looks like he's gonna shit himself)

"He's not wearing the brown pants.." Wade replied.

"What?" Flash managed to stutter out at last.

"Not you Atomic blonde, them!" he gestured up in the air. "Aaaanywhos, sorry bout that, didn't realize my mask was off. What a face to wake up to, huh? Also sorry about that chair thing yesterday...Yea.. Anyway, gotta go to work today so I can bring home more bacon! HAH!"

 _[Please don't bring an actual pig in here again]_

"Holy shit...You're Deadpool?" Flash stammered.

"Yeeeeeeees..?"

"Like, the actual, Deadpool? Wade Wilson? Merc with the mouth?" Flash was slowly drawing closer to Wade.

"Ummmmm...PETEY...HELP!" Wade called out, tapping his fingers together he looked around the room for help, "The one and only, sugar tits! Look sorry about the mask thing, Pet..."

"This is the greatest day of my life..!"

"I.. Say What?" Wade was getting confused.

[ _You're always confused shitstick]_

"Can I have your autograph? NO! Wait! How about a pic?! I have to go get my phone! Shit, why didn't I bring it with me!" Flash cursed. "Can I touch you? Can I touch your katanas?" He placed a hand on Wades pecs and honest to God giggled he was so happy!

"Soooooooo...You're a...Fan?" Wade inquired happily.

"Dude! You're like one of my idols! I mean, I totally love Spiderman and all but you just.. Like, inspire me every freakin day and you're so freakin hilarious but still a total badass and oh my God, I love you and Flash just shut up before he thinks you're crazy..."

"...PETER!?" Wade called.

 _"For the love of God! Wade, what is it?!"_ came the shout from upstairs. _"And where the HELL is the damn toilet paper?! This isn't funny, Wade! I really have to GO!"_

"Can we keep him?" Wade yelled.

(We have to, he's sexy and good for our ego! And he didn't notice our scars!)

 _[Just another mouth to feed. Throw him to the curb]_

(He's paying rent douchepool)

"If it's Flash, then yes! He can stay. If it's something else you drug home then NO! Leave it outside! Now come up here and bring me the fucking toilet paper or I swear to God I'm not letting you bring anymore unicorns in this house again!"

"YOU MONSTER! YOU...Are those pancakes?" Wade asked gleefully.

The mention of the food broke Flash from his fanboy trance and he raced back to the stove. "Shit! The bacon!" When he turned back Wade was sitting at the the kitchen island already drizzling syrup over a dozen of the pancakes.

"How..?"

Wade flashed him (heeee Flashed) a smile showing off his perfect teeth, "I'm gifted! Now pass me some pig, puddin!" He clapped his hands in anticipation.

Flash moved the bacon to the serving tray and turned to give some to Wade. Only to find him licking the syrup from his fingers and the pancakes already gone.

"...Uhhh.. Did you already...?"

"Those were delish!" Wade spun on the stool, "WEEEEEEE! Almost as good as mine, but you got a looong way to go there blondie. Now, Big Daddy Pool is going to finish this piggly wiggly and then its off to work for a few days. I have some terrorists to terrorize! Reach me some OJ, would ya?"

"Sure." Flash got a small bottle of Sunny D from the fridge, "Here you...Go.."

Half the bacon was gone.

"Told you. Gifted! Just ask Petey-Pie! My mouth is maaaaagical!" He sang.

"Wade..." Peter said from the doorway.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where's the _freaking_ toilet paper?" he asked darkly.

"...Well, what in the actual ass, look at the time! I gotta plane to steal, Love you Baby Boy!" Wade jumped from his seat and gave Peter a dramatic hug and dipped him.

"Wade..."

Wade turned kissed Flash right on the lips with a popping smack, then lifted him up into a bear hug, rocking him from side to side. "Genie, thanks for the love. And by love I mean pancakes. Take care of Petey while I'm gone, Kay! Kisses! Bye!" He pulled his mask on as he made for the door giving Peter a smack on the ass, then he was gone with a slam of the door.

Pete looked up at the ceiling, "Where's the damn toilet paper?" he asked the air.

Flash flopped down into a chair in the breakfast nook, looking shell shocked. Pete stood in the doorway, taking in the palor of his skin, his thin frame and sunken, dark eyes. Thinking back to the talk he and Wade had upstairs a few moments ago he went to the cabinet and pulled out two plates and cups. He piled his own plate high with pancakes and bacon, then made a smaller plate for Flash since the man didn't seem to want to eat.

Checking to see the other man still sitting stunned he took a small bottle of vitamins from the cabinet. Not your over the counter brand, these were a super strong one created by Peter to help those with super stamina stay more balanced. He figured if he could get at least one a week into Flash the man may start to feel better. Crushing one, he mixed it into some butter that he topped Flashs cakes with, then poured some OJ into the cups.

He carried everything to the table with ease, setting the plate down for Flash.

"Oh, thanks Pete, but I'm not to hungry."

"Humor me a bit." Peter sat, "I can tell you're not ok, Flash. I noticed it yesterday, and I'm seeing it today. And I will mind my own business til you decide you want to talk to me, but trust me, not taking care of yourself is the worst thing you can do. You look like hell, you're thin as a rail, your skin tone isn't healthy at all. Did you sleep last night?" He asked as he took a big bite.

"...No. But that was more from excitement than anything. It's not often I'm too happy to sleep. Usually I just can't do it. I have..." Flash tried, but he couldn't make himself tell Peter about the night terrors.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to." Pete assured him, "I'm not usually a mother hen, I swear," Flash grinned, "but for today at least, let me help. I've never seen you like this before, and it kinda worries me. Eat, then we'll go upstairs and I'll show you how to work some of the gadgets in your bedroom. Then, you can try to sleep."

"I don't know if I can keep the food down.."

"Just try, ok. It's better than nothing at all."

Flash picked up the fork and began working his way through the meal, before he even realized it he had cleared his plate and for once he didn't feel sick at all. That didn't happen often.

"Hey Pete?"

"Hmmm, " Peter hummed.

"You said Wade was an exterminator..."

Peter took a long sip of juice, "Weeeelllll.. If you really look at it, he kinda is.. Just.." he gestured vaguely, "with much bigger bugs..?" He hid his red face behind the cup. "He'll be back in a few days, then you can fanboy all you want. Wade will love that. It's not often he finds people who really admire him, so he's gonna be attached to you like a shadow from now on. He likes you, and he doesn't do that with many people."

"But he barely even met me.."

Peter shrugged, "Wade can tell that your a good man. It's enough for him."

"Can I ask where he's going? Or, um, should I not know?"

Peter looked him straight in the eyes, "Syria. He's gone to Syria.. Got a hit on a terrorist group he wants to wipe out. Don't worry about him, alright. He will be fine, I promise."

Flash paled a bit more at that, "...What part of Syria?"

Peter rubbed his face. He was up later than expected last night after Wade deemed it necessary to hack into Flash's military career after watching Black Hawk Down. It didn't take long for them to uncover his medical records and the files on the incident that nearly cost him his life. Digging deeper, Wade managed to find shielded info on the group responsible for those IEDs along that highway. A group that has caused trouble for SHIELD and the Avengers in the past. A group that the ARMY had apparently known everything about, including knowing about the roadside bombs that had been set up on that highway. Yet, they sent the convoy in anyway, without a warning to them of what they were walking into.

Nineteen men and women, all dead. Now, over two years later, the government had still done nothing to rectify the situation. Choosing to let the terrorists walk free, killing countless numbers of Syrian women and children, and even more members of the military.

Wades anger had soon rubbed off on Peter. After spending much of the evening with Flash, you could see how much damage that incident had caused. Damage that could have been avoided if only the government had done the right thing. Which was why Wade was now on his way into the ruins of Syria. He had names, he had faces, he had a head filled with rage. And he had Peters blessing. Knowing that the US Army willingly let those men and women go in there, not informing them of the danger, was enough for Peter to turn Wade loose. Looking over at Flash's weary face, he was glad he did.

After tomorrow... Well, that city in the desert would most likely be a smoking crater.

Sometimes even Spiderman had a dark side..

Peter sighed, "Aleppo.. He went to Aleppo.."

Flash nodded, contemplating that for a moment.

"Hey Pete.."

"Yea?"

"Your best friend is freaking awesome!"

He raised his glass in a toast, "You really have no idea.."


	5. Afternoon Delight

"So somewhere in here," Peter began as they entered Flash's apartment, "If Wade hasn't lost the damn thing again, there should be a small clear tablet, about the size of iPad. Any ideas where it is?"

Flash glanced around his new home a little lost, "Uumm, I don't remember seeing anything like that when I looked around last night." He rubbed a hand over his neck, looking bashful. "In total honesty I was fanboying pretty hard at those photos of Spiderman though, so I have no clue where to start looking for that."

Peter chuckled, and gave Flash a bright smile as he began to scour through the small kitchens cabinets. "You are gonna be as bad as Wade with the Spidey love, I can already tell. You two are gonna like, form some kind of weird a bro-bond over Spiderman. Wade, he's officially declared himself President of Webs's fan club. But I think you'd give him a good fight for it! You're both hero nerds!"

Flash laughed, and started looking under the couch cushions. "Hey, I was President long before him! I held that title in school, I was just letting him fill in while I was overseas. I'm nice like that. Plus, he has the advantage of actually knowing Spiderman.. I guess if Spidey's pick his own Pres, Wade would be it." He looked under the couch, being unsuccessful with the cushions.

Pete watched Flash belly-scoot over the floor, noticing for the first time the man wore two sweaters. It was only mid May, New York's weather was barely beginning to kick up the heat. It had still been a little cooler in the mornings though, but then again, Flash didn't look at his healthiest now. That probably had a lot to do with it, cause Peter thought it felt a little warm up here.

"You know, I was being serious when I said to come by the Tower sometime. Spiderman is there, uh, everyday. I can guarantee he'd like to meet you."

Flash scoffed a bit at that, "I doubt that.. If he knew half the stuff I used to do to you and a lot of the other stuff I've done, he'd probably hang me from the tower.. I kinda want to keep this image in my head that I'm a good enough person that even he might approve of, you know. Even when I know I'm not... You know that saying, that you should never meet your heroes? If I met him, and he hated me or something... I can't handle that.."

Peter just shook his head and went back to checking the cabinets, making a mental note to bring a few extra things up here. "You shouldn't put yourself down like that...You're not a bad person Flash." he said softly.

Flash scoffed, "Yea, my treatment of you at Midtown says different. I know what I am Pete, you don't have to try to appease me, or whatever."

"Well, offer is open anyway.." Peter told him.

Flash nodded, "Okay.."

Because of his busy lifestyle, after the attic renovation was finished he'd mostly ignored the space. The only people who ever stayed over were May or one of the Avengers if they got KO'd near Queens and didn't want to trek back to the tower or the mansion. Usually they just ate downstairs with he and Wade so now he wishes he'd put a little more thought in to basic necessities up here. There were no dishes, no cookware..

Hell, he couldn't even find a damn fork anywhere..

Pulling out his phone he jotted down some things to bring in later. Dish cloths, dish soap, (Ajax, because Wade thought it was hilarious) some trash bags.. He looked around.

Good God, there's not even a trash can..

Looks like I'll be spending my Sunday off digging through all that shit in the garage.

After he made the move to become a homeowner, his oh-so loving friends (mainly Tony) had came to the conclusion that one could never have enough cookware and cutlery. At the time, Peter had still been staying in a tiny, five hundred square foot apartment in Brooklyn Heights. So when a semi filled with housewarming gifts (basically ten thousand sets of dishes) pulled up to his door, he was not amused.

Most of that truck had went to various charities around the city but he somehow ended up with a ton of extra stuff anyway. Now, it was just lying dust covered in the garage.

After he finished here he'd go dig up some things for Flash. He hadn't really been planning on renting out the attic space inside their sanctuary, but after taking a good look at his old high school nemesis, Peter didn't have a heart dark enough to turn the man away. Putting him next to Wade, who had a tendency to wander into others personal space ninety percent of the time didn't seem safe. Giving him the tiny bedroom didn't seem like the right thing to do.

That look, in Flash's eyes, well he'd seen that look way to many times, on Steve after a battle, on Matt when he thought about Elektra.. On Wade when he woke up haunted by Weapon X. The look of the lost and the damned. The look of a lost man who needed some friends..

He hadn't seen Flash since high school, and the man he opened the door to yesterday was nothing like the witty, oversized smartass from back then. This man was worn, withered and nearly broken. He didn't need a degree in psychology to see that. His eyes held no spark, no light, his voice (once loud and fearless) was now meek and unsure. He no longer held himself with that arrogant confidence he'd always had. Now he stayed slouched, usually hugging himself in oversized sweaters as if he were trying to hide away from the world.

Peter had found himself wanting to change that.

"I think I found it?" Flash said rising, holding up the clear rectangular device. "Uuh.. What is it?" he asked, turning it in his hands.

"See that little metal tab on the corner? Touch it." Peter told him.

Flash pressed his thumb to the spot, feeling a little warmth from the contact. As soon as he pulled back the clear glass turned a deep black, followed by the bright red glow as the icons of the home screen swirled like mini hurricanes to life.

"Damn, that's kinda wild.."

Pete rolled his eyes, "I often make the mistake of letting Wade choose things. It's why a lot around here ends up red and black. Well, you saw the Jeep. You should see his truck, total cliche.. And his bedroom.." Peter shook his head. "May and I did most of the decorating up here, so you're safe. Anyway," Peter sat down on the couch, motioning for Flash to join him.

Flash folded himself down on the chaise end, getting comfortable.

"This little gizmo will control everything on this floor, door locks, security cams, and the TV. Here," he pointed to the screen, "If you just swipe left once you have all the icons for every device up here. See that one?"

Flash laughed, "Really? It controls the shades?" He pushed it and the shades slowly rolled down, shrouding the room in shadow.

Peter tapped another one and the lights gradually lit up. "We have one downstairs that controls the rest of the house too, as well as up here. I know it seems lazy, but some of our friends who visit usually come in injured, end up staying a couple days. Like Logan, he's landed here a lot. It's easier to push a button than to crawl across the floor while your body mends back together.."

"...The Wolverine has stayed here?..." he asked with awe.

"Ooh my God! You're such a dork, I swear I can't believe I never saw it before!" he bumped Flash with his arm, "Yeah, Wade loves him like a brother, even when he's a huge ass most of the time. And he's, uuuh... Well he's kinda hairy.. So he sheds everywhere. I kid you not. May could stuff a mattress with all the hair he leaves behind."

"Dude, if I find Wolverines hair in here I'm gonna start scrapbooking!"

"Holy shit! If I didn't know for a fact that you were an only child, I'd swear you were Wade's brother.. He keeps a piece of Wolvey's hair in his wallet!" Peter exclaimed.

"Well that explains everything. I must have been adopted. I never fit in with my family anyway. Maybe Wade is my long lost biological brother." Flash chuckled at the thought, his life growing up would probably have been a lot better if he had been in a better family.

"Yeah, no. Sorry sunshine. Aunt May knew your mom, remember? You are very much, not adopted! She came to the hospital to see you after you were born."

"Come on, it could be possible!" he gave a sly smile. "My mom might have been a big ho! Had a thing on the side with Wade's dad. BAM! I'm really Flash Wilson. And being Wades long lost brother, I think it's only fair that I get to drive his Jeep." He wiggled his brows.

Peter gave him a look filled with mirth, "That's definitely a big HELL NO! Wade would kill you! Then he'd kill me for letting you."

"Damn.. What about my amazing long lost high school buddy, then. You think he'd let his former archnemesis drive that sweet Audi out front?"

Peter gave a head tilt that reminded Flash of the Youtube videos of Spiderman he'd seen. Now that's a funny thought, but then again Peter did spend a ton of time around Spidey. Maybe his habits had rubbed off on Pete.

"I'm not amazing.." came the near whisper. "But yeah, I could let you."

"Really?" he beamed.

"Sure, how about this. I'll cut you a deal. If you get at least 7 hours sleep a night, for a week or two, and eat two full meals a day then I'll let you drive my car and Wades Jeep. Deal?" He held a hand out.

He had to hide the grimace, sleep was virtually impossible. "Awe, come on! Pretty please! I'm never gonna sleep that much" he pouted.

"Nope, sorry. That's the deal. Besides.. Wade didn't have the greatest childhood. His dad, well he was a real bastard.. Your dad was always great. You were better off where you were, adopted or not."

The smile faded from his face as he thought back to all those lashes of a belt, the endless bruises he sported from his father's fists, the cracked ribs. Always oh so careful to never leave a mark where eyes could see. Except the one time he came home for Christmas..

No one knew how much Harrison Thompson had truly hurt his son. When they were together in public, he was the picture of a loving, adoring father.

Behind closed doors, he was a barbaric beast..

He must have spaced out again. He didn't register Peter talking to him until a hand gripped his shoulder. He nearly pulled away from it, remembering how his dad used to grab him there and shove him down.

"Flash? Flash!?" he gave him a tiny shake, "Are you ok? You look a little sick. Is the food making you queasy?"

"No.. No ,I just thought of something I didn't like.." Not exactly a lie.

"Way to kill my dreams there Parker!" Flash gave a friendly shove, "That car is sick!"

"Yea, well, it was my Christmas gift from Tony last year. I'll tell him you approve. Anywho." Peter scooted a bit closer to him, "You want to see what else this does, cause what's in your bedroom is going to blow your mind!"

"Is that about that weird table thing in there. I was afraid to touch it, it looked like it could kill me."

"Hah, just prepare to be amazed Eugene. Ok, see this box on the ceiling? One of the perks of being employed by Stark is Tony gives us awesome gifts. That," he pointed up, "is your TV system. Every. Single. Channel. Known to mankind is on there, and it projects the image onto the wall in full Stark HD."

He pushed an icon and Banshee started playing on the wall. "It's also a massive computer." Another tap and the tablet turned keyboard, on the wall the image changed to a Stark login screen.

"Jesus..How much will this cost extra?" Flash laughed, feeling awed.

Peter stood, stretched his arms above his head and yawned like a bear. Flash caught a glimpse of his smooth, freakin ripped stomach as he did so. When the hell had Peter Parker become a bodybuilder? Flash knew it was rude to stare but damn, Parker could give Captain America a run for the best abs.

He watched as Peter logged in to the system, then his mouth dropped comically as he brought a hand up under his shirt and scratched at his chest. Dude, he had like a twelve pack going on under there. Flash had lost most all of his muscle definition during his stay in the hospital and he was feeling ab envy..

"It's all yours baby! And completely free! You can have it any time you want!"

"WHAT!" Flash shouted. Jerking his eyes away from Peters body and back to reality.

Peter stopped his scratching. "Dude..Indoor voice man, that yell could rival Thor's! TV and internet, it's all free. There's Starkflix on here to. It's Tony's version of Netflix, every show you can imagine.. From every country.. Perks of being an Avenger and working with Tony, " he squinted, "What did you think I was talking about?"

"Nothing!" Flash responded to quickly. He felt his face go hot, embarrassed at being caught ogling someone else's body.

"Mmm hmmm. Were you having some erotic fantasy over there?" he wiggled his brows. "Was it hot? Who was in it? OMGEEEE is it Tony? Steve? Wait! I know, it was _Spider-man_!"

"...Alright, you caught me..The thought of being able to watch Latvian porn on here got me hot..." Flash laughed. "So Deadpool's an Avenger now?"

"...I totally had you pegged for anime porn, my illusion is shattered... Huh? Wade?"

"The TV, you said it came with the perks of being an Avenger.. Soo, I didn't know he was an Avenger now." Flash stated.

Peter replayed that convo in his head, realized he almost slipped up. "Yea, yea he's a part time Avenger. Got a badge and everything!"

Even though he'd been swinging around the city since he was fifteen, only a handful of people knew about his 'secret'. It was more about privacy now than safety. Spider- Man's popularity had skyrocketed after he joined up with the Avengers. More people than ever were trying to find out who he was.

The only reason he never came forward with his identity was that valued his privacy. He didn't want 24 hour attention and if everyone knew he wouldn't be able to walk out the door. Not everyone could be Tony Stark.

Wishing to change the subject of Spidey, he headed for the bedroom. Making sure Flash followed. "So the clear thing on the wall is the screen, all the same options as your living room TV but there's an added bonus here." Peter looked gleeful.

"Why does this have a screen? The other's on the wall." Flash inquired.

"It's a prototype for SI's tech division. It's still in the test phase."

Peter sat Indian style in front of that black cabinet and pressed his thumb on the scanner.

'Access granted. Please choose an action'

"Add new user. Name-Eugene. Access restrictions-none."

'Command accepted. Please scan fingerprint now'

Peter turned and grabbed his arm pulling him down with him. Then he grabbed his hand and placed his thumb over the pad.

'Welcome, Eugene. Awaiting further instruction'

"Say 'Open', Pete prompted.

"Umm, open?" He watched in awe as the doors slid open and the shining ball on top lit up, projecting an image onto, no into, the screen above. Inside were four more clear phone sized devices, and four headsets he would recognize anywhere. Everything mounted on its own charging station.

"Those.. Those are VR headsets! Peter? Is this a game system?" He turned wide excited eyes to Peter.

"I knew this would get you. This! This is only the world's most amazing console! Designed by moi! Well, Tony helped. With this beautiful gift to mankind you can play Every. Single. Game. Ever created. From every system, ever in existance. From Pong to Red Dead Redemption 2. There ALL there." He fell back to the floor with a dramatic thump. "Fuck.. I'm awesome!"

"...How...? Is this even possible?" He was never leaving this room again, his life was now complete and he would live out his days here in gamers bliss.

Peter gave him a shit eating grin, "You're welcome. Oh, and every new game release automatically downloads. For FREE! Courtesy of Stark Industries, and the controllers can change to any version you like. You want an Xbox control. Just say the word. Playstation, ask away.. It even mimics an Atari stick. Just another Avengers perk. Are you ready to kiss my feet now?"

"Feet? I'd give you a blow job if I wasn't afraid you would murder me!"

Peter threw his head back with a hearty laugh, "Ha hah! You're hilarious. So.." he grabbed two controls, handed one to Flash, "Go get cozy, cause we are going to christen in your new bed.."

Flash choked on air. "Say what.. You wanna..?"

"..With a gaming marathon."

"Oh jeez.."

Peter smirked, "If I were you I'd go lie down..Cause your ass.. Is gonna be mine." he growled.

Oh hell..


	6. I'm So Tired

After a few hours of annihilating Flash at Madden NFL '19 (he had to admit, he was proud of that) Peter noticed his on-screen opponent was moving less and less. He glanced over to see Flash barely keeping his eyes open. When their marathon had begun, he had laid back against a mini mountain of pillows in his effort to 'get comfy' as Peter had put it.

Flash had looked like he wanted to wrap himself up in the heated blanket draped halfway over the bed, but instead just folded his legs closer to his torso.

They made easy conversation during their battle, talking about anything that came to their minds. Flash had an endless amount of questions, the man hadn't been in touch with anyone here during his time overseas and he made it a personal mission to grill Pete on everything he could think of.

He told Flash what it was like to work for Stark Industries, to share a lab with Tony and Bruce Banner( dude, the Hulk! Really?), how he learned to dodge a punch from the Black Widow and how to throw one from Captain America (so, is he really shaped like a dorito or is it mostly his armor?) and what life with Wade Wilson was really like, (seriously, where did he even find an ostrich in Queens, and how did he fit it in your car!?).

He told Flash about MJ, who was doing minor acting rolls out in California. She still mostly landed parts in commercials or doing voice overs but she recently scored a part in a major action flick that would be coming out next year. She was sure it was the big break she needed.

Liz ended up marrying Harry Osborn (How the hell did you not hear about that, Oscorp works with the military) and they had a son together, named Normie. Harry had never got over the fact that his dad had turned into the Green Goblin, so he wasn't in public as much as he used to be.

He also still blamed Spider-man (and by association, Peter) for Norman's death. But he wasn't about to tell Flash that. He had enough people know his secret identity.

Gwen.. Well Gwen was killed by a drunk driver about four years ago. Deep down he knew he couldn't have stopped it, Gwen was living in London when it happened, but It still stabbed him in the heart when he thought of her, how he'd never see his best friend again.. God how he missed her..

Ned worked along with Peter at Stark now. In the robotics R&D sector. So they saw each other every day. So far he was still single, but he had been out with Betty Brant from the Bugle a couple times lately, so who knew.

Flash told him about the everyday hell of training for the ARMY, trying to wade through two feet of mud and water while carrying a hundred pounds of gear on your back. Learning to skydive, spending three weeks of survival training eating bugs in a jungle.. He hadn't had many stories to tell about his time within his unit, which made Peter wonder how well they had all gotten along.

Now here he was, two and a half hours into the game and Flash was all but asleep in what could not be a comfortable position. Peter was just biding his time at this point, he wanted to make sure the man was fully asleep before he left the apartment. So he just sat and continued playing the game and chatting about whatever came to mind. After about twenty more minutes of fighting it, Flash was finally lax against the pillows. The soft sound of his breathing filling the room.

Peter just took the time to openly stare at Flash. Locking in every sign of sorrow on his face. He was determined to wipe those away.

 _What the hell have you been through_? he thought.

Even though he had only been here a little less than a day, and there was the fact that he used to beat the shit out of him on a regular basis, Peter could feel himself already growing attached to Flash, kinda like he had with Wade. Maybe it was just his intuition, or maybe his Spider Sense was trying to tell him something, but he knew from the moment he re-opened the front door yesterday that Flash Thompson was going to be a permanent fixture in his everyday life.

As he watched like some kind of a creeper, (Wade would love that) the controller in Flash's hand started sliding toward the floor. Before it even had a chance to wake him up Peter leapt up and over the bed and Flash, barely stirring the air. He landed silently in a crouch on the floor, letting the controller fall in to his hand.

Flash slept on oblivious.. Shew..

He oh-so quietly set about putting the room to right again, putting everything back on its charging station, he powered down the console plunging the room into silence. The noise of the game and Peters endless chatting must have been helping Flash to snooze, because as soon as it went off the man started to open his eyes.. Shit!

"Mmmph..Pete? Wha..? " he tried faintly. "Shit, sorry did I fall asleep? Lemme..Lemme wake up a little, we can play some more." he said a little slurred, trying to keep his eyes open.

"No. it's cool. I have some things to take care of anyway. How bout you try and go back to sleep now," Peter whispered, coming closer to the bed. "Do you need noise to sleep? You were sawing some big logs there til I turned the game off. "

"No...No not usually.. I think it's you.." he started, only to pause looking embarrassed.

"Me? What did I do?" he asked concerned.

"Nothin.." he mumbled.

"Seriously, what? Dude, come on! If I did something I want to know, so I wont do it again."

"Your voice.. It.. It sounds..." Flash cut off.

"Sounds?.." Peter pressed.

He gave a huff, "S'nice.. Peaceful, it makes me feel relaxed. S'why I slept in the car. Sounds stupid, saying it out loud but, I haven't slept good for months.. Yesterday was the best I've had in a long time..." Flash's voice was heavy.

"Really? That's it?" Peter had to smile, Wade had said damn near the same thing when they moved in together. He wondered if they could be cousins or something, there were some striking similarities between Flash and Wade. "Hmm, ok. I really wasn't expecting that. Usually people pay to shut me up. Huh!"

Flash grimaced, "Laugh it up Parker, I know I sound like a weirdo, but.."

"No! No, no, no. I just, well the only other person to tell me that was Wade. It's kinda nice actually."

"Tol you.. I'm Flash Wison." he slurred.

Peter fell face first on the other side of the bed with a laugh. "Well then, Mr. Wilson, would you like yours truly to stay here and lure you back to Neverland with my exotic voice?"

Flash just stared dumbly for a minute, "You don't have to.. I'll eventually fall asleep on my own. I know you probably have other stuff to do. I'm fine."

"You know if it helps you I don't mind, Flash. There isn't much to do here today. I was gonna dig some dishes out of the garage for you and do some laundry but that's it." He rolled on his back staring up at the ceiling, "I'd be fine chillin here today, but be warned I never run out of shit to talk about so just kick me out if I get annoying."

There was complete silence for about five minutes. The only sound was Flash's deep breathing, and then..

"Pete...?"

"Yeah?"

"Why..?" he implored.

Peter turned his head to look at him. Not sure what he was asking him, "Why what Flash?"

"Why are you being so nice to me."

Those words, and the broken way it was whispered, felt like it would pierce his soul.. He sat up and looked down at Flash. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

"Cause I'm a big dick.. I don't deserve it.. I don't deserve any of this.."

"Big dick, huh? I mean, yea I can vouch for you there. Remember we were in the same gym class, so yea it is pretty big." Peter gave that evil little smirk.

"...I'm waaaay too tired for your sassy mouth Parker... Oh God.. Did you really stare at my dick in gym?! Why!"

"Eh, it was hard not to. It was there, sometimes right in my face when you guys decided to slap me with towels, so yea, big dick. And yes, you were a big dick then, but now you're pretty chill so I think you deserve this totally amazing pad that me and May worked soooo hard on. Ooop, totally just said hard on, are we still talking about your dick?"

"...Oh my God..You're going to be the actual death of me!" Flash whined, "What is it with you and those sexual innuendos?"

"Side effect of Wade Wilson, sorry. I kinda don't realize I do it, not unless it's _pointed_ out"

"No! No, no, no more trying to get a rise out of me. Oh fuck! Now you have me doing it!" He rolled to his side, "I just want to sleep!"

"Ok, ok I'm sorry. I'll stop for now. But really, does my voice really make you feel that relaxed?"

Flash nodded, "It reminds me of before.. All this happened..Better times, for me anyway."

"Alright then. I can help with that." He picked up the control tablet and turned the TV back on. After a minute or so he was logged in to his Stark account and brought up an old video. It was a few years old, when he and Tony had done a lecture at MIT together. He adjusted the settings so the video would play on loop and his voice filled the room once more.

"Annnnnd, voila! Infinite Peter." he sat back beside Flash, "Is that better?"

"Yeah, it is. Thanks Pete.." he was already nodding again.

"Anytime, Eugene. Anytime." He stayed as the man fell back into a deep slumber before rising to his feet to leave. Before he did, though, he remembered the blanket that was half underneath Flash and how he seemed to stay cold. Gently he lifted his legs to maneuver them under the covers. As he did the sweats he was wearing slid up a bit, giving Peter his first glance at the metal and plastic prosthetics.

He furrowed his brow, they didn't even look like the standard issue prosthetics that Vets usually ended up with. They looked cheaply made, basically it was a metal rod with a pivoting foot and the upper part of the rod was encased in a plastic covering to make it look more realistic. It probably held on by a strap around the thigh area. That probably wasn't comfortable.

He wondered if he could sweet talk Tony into making him a better set.. Maybe he would ask him tomorrow.

He pulled the blanket up around Flash, wrapping him up like a mummy. Even though it was warm already he turned the heat on to the medium setting then closed the rest of the shades.

"Rest well, Flash.." he spoke softly. Then made his way out to start the rest of his day. He stopped by the bedroom to change and check his phone. He really shouldn't have.

There were two new messages, the first was from Wade.. Oh God..

 _If anyone asks it wasn't me! It was Weasel -Wade_

Annnnd that doesn't sound good for me, Peter thought.

The second was from Tony

 _Parker! Why the fuck did that black and red nutcase steal my jet?! -Tony_

"Dammit Wade!"


	7. A New Day Has Come

_Beep beep beep beep beep-_

SMACK!

Peter was glad he began reinforcing his clocks long ago to (mostly) survive the hit every morning, or it would be in pieces over the floor. He figured he had another two weeks worth of smacks before he had to work on a new one. He had gotten much better at perfecting the clocks over the years, they now lasted for a few months instead of days. He made the mistake once of trying to use the alarm on his phone, at that time he wasn't on the Stark Industries plan and smashed four phones within a month.

The employees at AT&T had been on a first name basis with him back then, so he stuck with the faithful clock. It was cheaper and over the years he'd learned to rig them up nice. Now if only he could sweet talk Tony into a small amount of vibranium he could have an unbreakable one. No matter how he tried though, it was one thing Tony never budged on.

Peter groaned as he actually crawled his way out of the bed and slid on his belly across the floor.

God.. Five freaking AM came way to early. Sometimes adulting sucked.

He knew it was a bad idea to extend his patrol last night, but he'd spent the past three months trying to track down info on what was looking like a bad new drug trafficking ring. And last night he got lucky! Well, kinda lucky.

It had first caught his attention when he busted an attempted rapist and an odd looking bag had fallen from his pocket as he tried to escape. Peter hadn't thought much about it at the time because New York's streets were filled with pushers so he let it slide and did his duty of arresting (webbing the man to a light pole) and calling the po-po. The NYPD could deal with it, he had enough on his plate with his job, and Aunt May ,and Spider-ing, and taking care of the man size child that was Wade. So he let it go, pushed back into the depths of his mind.

Until the bodies had started showing up.

To date there were six, never found in the same areas and all found carrying the same little bag. His only clue he had until last night about the operation was the bag, midnight black with a silver star. All of his peeks into the NYPD's data showed nothing. He couldn't find much data about the bodies, no info on the bags contents , the coroner had ruled each COD a heart attack, nothing to unusual for a chronic junkie.

Sometimes he wondered if the NYPD even cared anymore about what went on in their city.

Maybe having all these superheroes running around made the police lazy, maybe if they all took a break for a bit the fuzz would have to step it up some.

There was something, though, there had to be. He could have sworn he'd seen that star before. It wasn't like Cap's, it wasn't completely plain, each end had a small rounded point on it but he just couldn't seem to remember where he had seen it before. No matter how he tried.

There only things the victims had in common were the black bag, and the fact that they were all men. His senses told him there was something was off about the situation. The bag was the only lead, and Peter needed to get his hands on one.

Shoulda snatched the first one when you had the chance Parker.

Last night he finally made some headway, totally by accident. He was lounging on a rooftop in East Harlem eating a burrito when a young man of about 20 caught his eye. By caught he meant caught trying to sell some goods to a group of guys skating nearby. Peter had him webbed up and was off swinging through the city in a flash. The young man was very forthcoming _(squealed like a pig)_ with his information as he was hanging by a web from the top of Oscorp. It wasn't extremely helpful, but he'd take what he could get at the moment.

According to the young dealer, who Peter found had a rap sheet longer than Wades katanas, he was recruited by some big shot in a suit _(why do they always wear suits)_ who handed him a black envelope with a silver star on it. Inside the envelope were the detailed events from his life from the time of his first arrest up to the present, and ten crisp one-hundred dollar bills. A note inside had said 'I've been watching you' and gave him instructions on a location to go if he wanted to make incredible amounts of money. The man in the suit simply waited for a yes or no, and told him the thousand was his to keep regardless, as long as he never spoke of this meeting.

Deciding to follow the leafy green, the young dealer found himself outside of a graffiti covered warehouse in College Point, where he picked up a box with ten little baggies from a gigantic ogre of a man and an area he was supposed to 'recruit' from. Peter assumed recruting meant finding naive youngsters to get hooked on the dope. The dealer said the location switched every week. A card just like the first showed up under his door filled with money and a new location each time but he'd never seen the suit guy again after that first meet. So far he'd made about a hundred grand for his services and had a nice new apartment in Manhattan.

Peter had let him go then oh so sneakily followed him back to his apartment. Now all he had to do was spy on the man and hope he caught the next card being delivered. He had to give these people a little credit, most people nowadays used tech to communicate, but these people whoever they were, were being very old school. Slightly harder to trace back to the main source he supposed.

After his nightly adventures he had flopped onto his bed at a nice 3 am and had maybe gotten an hours rest. This morning he was really feeling it. Damn, he was tired... Tony would kill him if he fell asleep in the labs again.

I am thirty-three years old and a superhero, I should not feel like a seventy year old garbage man.. Peter thought, as he staggered his way into the shower where he hurried to get ready. He was supposed to clock in at seven but Tony had never really said anything about his lateness. Always being the understanding boss ( _except for vibranium to make an indestructible clock)_. Peter figured Steve had something to do with Tony's more mellow attitude change in recent years.

Zipping through his morning routine he went downstairs to fix some breakfast. He nearly fell asleep into a bowl of eggs. Slapping himself to wake up he thought back to yesterday's earlier adventures.

After he left a sleeping Flash upstairs he had headed down to his office to see if he could reach Wade and convince him not to trash, crash or ( _Please God don't trade it for tacos Wade! Petey, it's in good hands baby boy! Don't you trust me? Wait why is that alarm going off? Wade!)_ a multi-multi-million dollar quinjet. He sure as hell didn't need to make that up to Tony..

He also sent Tony a copy of the files they 'acquired' ( _It's totally legal Petey-pie! I know what I'm doing. Wait, what's this warning mean? WADE!)_ from the US of A about Flash's sortie in Syria, to get his thoughts on the situation.

Years ago, before Peter had been bitten by the fateful spider, Tony had taken on a terrorist group known as the Ten Rings, who had kidnapped him in Afghanistan. The genius made his first armor and escaped their clutches, killing quite a few of them in the process. Over the next few years he thought he and SHIELD had dismantled the organization, every so often a few stray cells would pop up and wreak havoc somewhere around the globe, but there hadn't been any sign of them for a few years now.

It had left Tony thinking the group was finally finished.

Apparently it wasn't..

Apparently they've just got better at hiding. Flash's mission log that day showed his small platoon was to extract a top Ten Rings operative known only as M, alive, somewhere just outside of Aleppo, but they never made it to the destination. They never even got close. On a dirt road near a hovel called As Sin the military convoy 'encountered unforeseen complications' and the mission was scrapped. The M character evaded capture and the survivors were flown back home and basically forgotten.

His phone had rang barely five minutes later with an irritated Tony on the other end demanding to know if this is legit. After another ten minutes of bitching _(Peter barely managed five words)_ he finally hung up after vowing to dig deeper into the depths of the SHIELD, the CIA and whatever other government office he could sneak into to find more proof that the Rings still existed.

After that one sided convo, Peter had gone into the garage to dig out some crap that Flash might need while he lived here. He didn't think he'd spend the next six hours sorting that shit out but someone, _(dammit Wade)_ had managed to cram every single storage tote and box into one massive pile in one side of their garage. He vowed next weekend all that shit would be donated to the nearest thrift store.

He was surprised when he unearthed a complete set of Spider-man dishes. Where the hell did Tony even get those? They were nice, like fine china quality. Those would definitely be the ones making the trip to the attic apartment.

By the time he finished most of the day was gone, but he had a heap of trash to haul to the curb and an even bigger heap to donate. He did manage to find a lone roll of toilet paper poking out from underneath the back wheel of Wade's truck, which made him wonder just what that idiot was doing with it once more. That was another mystery he was determined to solve.

Darkness was setting in by the time he delivered the liberated items from the garage to upstairs where he discovered Flash was still out, the loop of Peters boring lecture still playing on the screen.

 _Flash_ , he thought, as he worked on his food. Never in his wildest web filled dreams could he have imagined Eugene 'Flash' Thompson sharing his home. Now that he was over the shock of seeing Flash on his doorstep and then gaining him as a roomie he had more time to think about some things picking at his mind.

From their conversations yesterday he knew Flash had spent most of the last year or two in a hospital. He talked about the other patients and about his long and painful rehab process but never once had he even hinted about his lost limbs. He never mentioned any visits from his friends or family (what little family he had) but had smiled happily when he talked about other patients family visits.

Peter had the sad feeling that Flash may have been totally alone since he had been back on US soil. But surely his dad would have visited him, right? Maybe some of his old school buddies? But now that he thought about it Flash had mentioned when Peter was showing him the house that he hadn't seen any of them in quite a few years.

 _Well, I am just going to have to change that_ , Peter thought. He had plans to meet up with a few of their classmates again in a couple weeks and now he was going to make sure Flash went with him.

He was also going to make sure Flash put on more weight, Peter guessed he was around one sixty to one seventy but with his six foot plus height he was far to thin for Peter's liking. His brain reminded him that in school Flash had been around two fifty or possibly bigger, that was nearly a hundred pounds lost and you could tell alot was muscle mass.

Yep, definitely need to fatten him up.

After finishing his own breakfast he dished up a plate of eggs and bacon with a side of hash browns and popped back up to the attic apartment. He put it in the tiny microwave with a post-it on the door so Flash would find it when he woke. After a quick peek in to check on Flash he found him still snoring softly, himself still yammering away on the screen.

He went back down to gather his things for work and cursed when he saw that it was only five minutes to seven. He was going to be late again, there was no way in hell he could be in Manhattan in ten minutes fighting the morning rush hour.

Bullshit! Just once I'd like to drive to work like a normal human!

Peter sighed, hanging his head. He was going to have to swing it again.

Hmmm.. Maybe not, he thought wickedly. He grabbed his phone and sent a quick text with a sinister smile on his face. Moments later a familiar glowing portal swirled to life in his living room, and an irritated looking Stephen Strange stepped through.

"Pete, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not your own personal magic Uber!"

"Aww come on Doc. You know you love me, I'm the only Avenger who gets that weird sense of humor of yours."

"No. No.. I hate you!" Stephen ruffled his hair as he said it, "I'm nothing to you guys but a magic carpet ride. Come on let's go before Tony has a meltdown, whatever he's been working on has him one step away from a diva trip and I can't handle that again. You and Steve are the only ones who can deal with that."

"Uh-oh.. I think this one's on me. I may have gave him some info that he's not happy with. Hey do you think you can open a portal for me like over him? I wanna drop down and scare the shit out of him!"

Stephen grinned, his pale eyes alight with pleasure, "I take it back, your my favorite. I love you! Just let me get in position first, I want a video of this. I've needed new blackmail material on him ever since he got that photo of me sneaking into Comic-Con dressed as Sherlock Holmes."

"You really pulled that off by the way. Where'd you even find the coat?"

Stephen shrugged, "Eh, just had it lying around," he cocked a brow, "You ready?"

"Ready to terrify Tones? Hell yeah, lets go! I've got two minutes to clock in."

Stephen flicked his wrist and a new portal shimmered to life. Peter cast one last look to the stairs before he stepped through to begin his day.


	8. Burnin For You

Tony Stark was a man of many faces.

He was the face of a multi-billion dollar tech company, he was the face the government came to when the state of the Earth was threatened. To millions throughout the galaxy, he was the face who saved them from evil warlord Thanos, to Hammer Industries he was the face of the enemy. To Pepper Potts he was the face of love and friendship, to Steve Rogers he was the face of a partner, a brother in arms.

To Doctor Stephen Strange, he was the face of the best friend he'd ever had, a brother in every way but blood, and to Peter Parker..

Well, to Peter he was the face of Dad…

A Dad who was currently lying prone on the old couch of his tower workshop nursing a huge goose egg on his forehead and moaning about his ungrateful family.

How was he supposed to know that Tony would be testing out some new nano-shield tech when Peter popped his head through a portal in front of him, just his head. Tony, the overprotective mama bear of the Avengers, hadn't seen the swirling lines of the tiny portal behind Peter, only his head floating like a ghost before him and had thought one of their numerous enemies had done something horrible to him..

Being thoroughly terrified that Peter had somehow been beheaded, and whichever enemy had left the head as a message to Tony, Tony naturally panicked. He forgot about the shielding tech he had been working on and in flight mode he had turned to run, cracking his head against the shield and dropping to the floor like a puppet with no strings.

That caused Peter to panic, frantically signalling Stephen behind him to open the portal wider so he could get through. In his haste to check on Tony, _he_ forgot the shield was there as well, slamming face first at full speed and getting a bloody nose for his error in judgement.

When Stephen came through, all he saw was an unconscious Tony on the ground and a bleeding Peter. When he knelt down to check Tony his hand made contact with the shield and an array of golden sparks had him flying across the room and crashing into a table with a cry of pain.

Now there was an irate Tony Stark on the couch with an ice pack over his face, Peter was perched on the back with wads of tissue sticking out of his bloody nose and Dr. Strange was pacing back and forth cradling his hand, looking a bit green.

"Now, why in God's name did you think it would be a good idea to scare me with your little severed head scheme?" Tony raised the ice pack, the knot on his head was the size of a walnut and he had two black eyes forming.

Peter cringed, wondering if he could keep Tony away from a mirror for a few days. Maybe the Doc could enchant them so he couldn't see the damage.

"I was just trying to scare you! It wasn't a severed head!"

"Well that's sure as hell what it looked like to me!" Tony whined, "And you," he wagged an accusing finger at Stephen, "Why in the world did you let him do that? You know how I am Strange! You know how I worry about the kid! What the hell were you thinking!?"

"Uuuh," Peter said, "You do know I'm coming close to the upper side of thirty, right?"

"Sorry," Stephen whispered. "It was just supposed to be a harmless prank. We didn't think you'd go into panic mode. Leave it to you to nearly kill us all with your untested tech.."

"Hey! I told you days ago I was getting ready to go into the first test stages today. I even sent all the Avengers an email _and_ a text to let them know! I sent them myself so I know you had to have gotten it!"

"Tony, I was with Thor on Vanaheim til early this morning," Stephen said wearily, "I had barely portaled in when Pete texted. I told you that this morning when I got home, were you even listening?"

"Uuummm…"

Peter cringed, "Sorry Doc.." He hadn't even considered Stephen might have been busy or even tired.

Stephen stopped pacing and leaned weakly against the workstation. Peter noticed he was holding his right hand close to his body.

"Hey Doc? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Peter, it's just a little sore is all." Stephen assured him.

Tony jerked in Stranges direction, "Wait-Sore? What!? _Did you get hurt!?"_ Tony's thundered, wobbling to his feet.

"Tony lie down! You have a concussion!" Stephen said, "It's fine, it's just a little sore, I swear."

"Ok, fine. Let me see."

Stephen clutched his arm a little tighter, "Excuse me, which one of us is the MD here? Ooh, that would be me, so your knowledge is irrelevant. Now go lie down!"

Tony gave Peter a simple signal that spoke a thousand words. Peter knew the drill, Doc would just keep denying he was hurt, Tony would distract him with some whining while Peter snuck close to inspect for damage. They'd perfected their little scheme years ago and Doc had either never caught on or he enjoyed their attempts at fussing over him.

Peter bet on the latter.

While Tony bickered with him, Peter snuck close to get a look at Docs hand. What he saw made him gasp, Stephens head jerked to him and he tried to back away but Peter was to quick. Peter delicately grabbed his arm for a closer inspection.

"Peter.." Stephen started.

He frowned, "Doc you're not fine.. You're burned.. Pretty bad."

" _What_!" Tony shrieked, "Burned! What the hell, Merlin!"

"Tony, it's fine. Just a little red, I'll put some ointment on it and be fine. You, on the other hand-"

"Ah, ah, ah," Tony wobbled over and lifted Stephens hand. "We both know doctors make the worst possible patients, so I'll be the judge of- _Holy shit! What the hell Stephen? This isn't just a little red!_ We're going to the med-bay now! Jarvis, get Bruce or Helen up there to meet us. How can you even think this is fine!?"

"Tony, I've had worse. A lot worse, it's ok."

Peter and Tony gave him matching pained looks.

"Not really helping your case Doc," Peter said.

Med-bay.. Now!" Tony gave him a gentle tug to get him moving. "Come on Underoos, you too. Bruce can get a look at your nose."

"Fine," Peter whined. To be honest it was hurting. Hitting that shield felt like he'd been hit by a bus.

As they made their way up to the infirmary, Peter couldn't hide his smile as he watched Tony and Stephen. Tony had his arm wrapped around Stephens lower back to steady him as he walked. Stephen didn't mind, he leaned heavily into Tony's side, no doubt feeling more ill than he was showing them. Tony merely pulled him closer.

It was hard to believe they were the best of friends. Most would say that putting two people with planet sized egos together would be a recipe for disaster. And they were right, when the two had first met (back when Thanos was coming) some sixteen years back, their nearly identical personalities had clashed spectacularly. Then Stephen saved Tony on Titan, trading the Time Stone for his life, and losing his own (and Peters) in the process. 

After five years of trying to defeat the Mad Titan and restore the balance to the universe, Tony and the remaining heroes succeeded in freeing them from the Soul World. One by one, everyone made it back. Peter was one of the first while Doctor Strange was the final one to leave. With everyone reunited, they stood together for one last fight with Thanos, and in the end it was Tony and Stephen who dealt the final blow.

When the dust settled, Tony had pulled Stephen aside for a word. Peter had no idea what they said to each other but they had been virtually inseparable since then. Stephen had stood beside Colonel Rhodes as a second best man when Tony and Pepper had married, and he had been the shoulder Tony cried on when they divorced over a year later.

Tony had lent his shoulder when Christine had severed her relationship with Stephen for good shortly after Tony's divorce. The two had disappeared for over a month on a secret vacation away from everything. They came back looking tan, happy and the healthiest Peter had ever seen them.

Stephen had his own suite in the tower and the compound, as well as a wing in the old Stark Mansion. Tony had his own room in the Sanctum as well as a small workshop there. They somehow managed, despite their egos, to bring out the best parts of each other.

So, yeah. Peter couldn't help but smile at them when they were together. Stephen was as much his father figure as Tony, sometimes more. He honestly didn't know what he would do without them.

Bruce was waiting patiently watching Fox News when they arrived, wearing purple sweatpants with no shirt but he had his lab coat on, and bright green socks. His hair was a birds nest of messy curls.

"Tony it's 7:30, I only went to bed an hour ago. What have you done to yourself now?" Bruce asked.

"Not me this time! I broke the Doc, it looks bad. I broke the kid too, so here we are.."

"Tony, I told you, it's fine-" Stephen started.

"Ah, ah, ah! Bruce will be the judge of that, thank you!"

"You do know I am still a Doctor, right? Hence the name, Doctor Strange."

"I know, world renowned neurosurgeon. But come on, everyone knows how horribly you _don't_ treat your own injuries, that's why BrucieBear is here!"

Bruce smirked at Stephen, "Well, he's not wrong. I've seen you use electrical tape to close a wound.."

"Fine.." Stephen sat on a bed while Bruce washed his hands.

"Ok, let's see what we have- _Oh my God! What have you done to your hand!_ Bruce exclaimed as he walked over and lifted Stephens arm. It was an angry red and some rather large, juicy looking blisters had formed on the surface of the shaking limb.

Bruce entered MD mode, "Tony, go get me some soft dry towels, nothing rough, and gauze. Peter, I need you to fetch me some cool wet cloths, some antibiotic ointment, an ice pack and a vial of morphine, please!"

"Bruce, I don't need any morphine. I can't feel much anyway because of the nerve damage. I'll be fine, let's just dress it and-"

"Don't argue with your doctor, Stephen.. Lie down, we need to keep this elevated." 

"Bruce-"

"I have had four hours sleep in the past three days working on a new, more effective insulin for T1D. I'm irritable, please don't make it worse." His eyes flashed green and he knew he had Stephen's attention.

"Just lie down and be a good patient for once, please. I'm going to give you a shot of morphine before I dress you wounds, you're going to be a bit loopy soon so you may as well get comfy."

"I'm not staying down here! It's only a burn-"

"It's a second degree burn, it's going to take around a month to heal-"

"I know, I'm a Doctor too!"

"-and even though you can't feel much because of the nerves in your hands, your body is still injured, it needs to heal. So consider yourself on bedrest for the next three days-"

"What!"

"-and no traveling through the realms or other dimensions for the next four weeks or I'll sic Tony on you.." Bruce smiled.

"I can't just neglect my-"

"And Wong!"

Stephen deflated, knowing he'd never outsmart the both of them, "Fine.."

"Good." Bruce said as Tony and Peter came back with their supplies. He dosed Stephen with painkillers before he wrapped the hand in the cold wet towels for about twenty minutes. He then gently dried and applies the cream, being extremely careful not to break any of the blisters. He wrapped it in a loose gauze and laid the ice pack on top and elevated the arm with pillows. He then gave Peters nose a check and deemed that he would live.

By that time Stephen was pretty out of it and Bruce left him in Tony and Peters care. The two chatted about their weekend. Peter told him about he and Wade's new roomie (wait, your high school bully Flash!) and Tony talked about Steve finally asking Natasha out (apparently she accepted).

"Tony, why did your shield burn the Doc but not me?" Peter asked.

Tony sighed, "Stephen and I have been working on a shielding for me that repels magic, so he's partly to blame. I guess he forgot what I was testing this morning, he wasn't supposed to even touch it. Hell, we weren't supposed to get to the magic part til tomorrow. He was just supposed to throw spells at me to see if it could repel the magic.."

Tony looked sadly at Stephen, "I hate that he's hurt.. He wasn't supposed to be in the lab til later.." He sighed.

"Hey Pete, you can go to work now if you want. No sense sitting here all day watching Doctor Drool. I'll stay with him."

"Sure thing Tony.." Peter rose to his feet to leave when the news broadcast on the TV caught his attention.

" _-some sort of a bomb or device has detonated. No word yet on if there are casualties. That area of Syria has been in the middle of conflict for the past several years, most of the civilians have abandoned the city leaving it to the warlords. The US military is comparing the destruction to that of Hiroshima, there's a blast radius a mile wide-"_

"Oh my God… Wade.."

" _-as you can see from these chilling images there is nothing left standing. It appears as though everything has disintegrated-"_

"Wade, what did you do..?" Peter said aloud.

" _-leaving some sort of a strange glow on the ground-"_

Tony came to stand beside him, looking at the devastation on screen, "That's where Deadpool went?"

"Yeah.. He was only supposed to go after the Ten Rings.. Not, not this! What the hell was he thinking?"

Tony huffed, "Kid, look at that," he pointed at the destruction. "There's no way Wade could get his hands on that kind of firepower. This.. This wasn't Wade. This was something else. Look, there's nothing left, even in my bomb days I couldn't make anything that completely disintegrated everything. And that size… That mark on the ground has to be a mile in diameter. There's no way Wade did that.."

Peter pulled out his phone, "I'll try calling him.."

After six tries of nothing but dead air, Peter groaned in frustration. His spider sense was tingly and he knew something had gone massively wrong.

"Kid, come on, it'll be ok. He's fine, I mean he's Deadpool, he literally can't die. Maybe he's just.." Tony gestured wildly, "In a few different pieces.."

"Something doesn't feel right, Tony.. Wade always answers me, even when he's dying.. It doesn't feel right.." Peter was worried.

Tony looked at the blackened earth on the screen before him, a golden hue quivering on the surface. There was nothing, not a building, a tree or a blade of grass for possibly miles. A sense of dread filled him as well..

"I know kid.. I know.."


End file.
